"That was seven years ago. When I left the Qing Dynasty, that is, before leaving the capital to return home, I once climbed up to the front gate and looked at the Forbidden City in the north!"
"The flags are fluttering on the top of the city and thundering loudly. The soldiers of the Eight Banners armed with guns and armor are like stone statues, five steps to one post and ten steps to one sentry!"
"The imperial city, which has been under strict protection for hundreds of years, has closed its door to me... I once requested to see the Queen Mother and Your Majesty, but the Prime Minister's Office blocked my request on the pretext of improper etiquette!"
"However, the Prime Minister's Office still fulfilled my small wish. I climbed to the top of the Qianmen Gate Tower and took a look at the Imperial Palace from a distance!"
"Where do I salute His Majesty the Emperor with an Eastern salute of thousands of dollars!"
"The memories are replayed in front of my eyes, but I didn't expect that I would be able to enter the imperial city seven years later. What surprises me even more is that the soldiers guarding the imperial city have changed?"
Er Mao smiled as he listened to Gordon finish telling the past story, "So, you have traveled through so many provinces in the Central Plains, and no one has ever talked to you about the situation in the capital?"
"Please, please, there is still a little time, I will delay your time for half an hour!"
This is the Dong'an Gate outside Donghua Gate. Walk a few steps north to reach the Hu's snack shop. Emperor Tongzhi's imperial pen is hanging on the roof beam of the shed. With the emperor's majesty and authority, people who come here to eat even He's an old man in the Eight Banners, so he has to be polite!
In the shed, there were many Eight Banners men from the inner city and resting soldiers from the Yulin New Army eating. When they saw that Chief Ermao had arrived, he brought a foreign Japanese with him!
Everyone knew General Manager Ermao. A group of people asked An Qian to say a few words of courtesy, and then gave up the north corner to let the two nobles chat alone.
It was not lunch time, and they were not hungry. Each ordered a large bowl of tea, and then got a plate of crispy cat ears as a snack.
"Sir Gordon... This Donghua Gate is not part of the reform rules of the Qing Dynasty. This Donghua Gate was snatched away by Lord Long Live himself with his troops!"
Er Mao lowered his voice and told in general what happened on Emperor Tongzhi's return to the capital. When he talked about the thrilling parts, Er Mao even sighed with regret.
"Long Live Lord has said more than once that I really regret splitting up the troops in India! If you had been by His Majesty's side, you wouldn't have suffered such a big loss in the court!"
Gordon's information was really blocked. On his way back to Beijing, no one had shared information with him!
It's really sad to say that Gordon's route back to Beijing was from Gansu to Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, then out of Tongguan to Henan, and then north along the Zhili Official Road all the way to Beijing.
This route is all the areas where the feudal power of the Qing Dynasty is the strongest at the moment!
The forces of foreign devils have not penetrated in, and Xiao Letian's power has not expanded here... These provinces have always been completely controlled by China's traditional power!
What's even more interesting is that now that Emperor Tongzhi is not in charge, he cannot personally issue orders to these provinces!
In other words, even the imperial power cannot be invested here for the time being! So who is in control here? In fact, it is very simple and controlled by traditional power!
Governments at all levels of prefecture, county and road followed the old governance model. The villages and towns below the county were completely controlled by the local gentry and landlord class. In addition to taxing and paying grain, the court would also take care of the extermination of rebels and bandits. The remaining time was simply I have no time to deal with the people at the bottom.
From top to bottom, time seems to have stood still in these traditional areas. Gordon's journey is like walking through a history museum where time has frozen!
The little emperor does not personally govern, but these local officials are actually all in the mountains. They say they are loyal to the emperor and the court, but in fact they are only loyal to the forces behind them!
I am the official recommended by Prince Gong, then Prince Gong is my master!
I am an official elected by Li Hongzao and Weng Tonghe, so I am a member of Qingliu!
Even Prince Qing, Prince Li, Prince Chun...etc., as long as there are prominent people in the court, they have installed their direct descendants in their places!
In such a complicated ruling structure, how could anyone sincerely serve the little emperor? Even if the little emperor wanted to send a message to Gordon, he couldn't believe these dirty local officials!
So Gordon spent all his money on good food, good housing, good entertainment... all from the official treasury. He enjoyed all the happiness but didn't get any useful information!
While collecting information along the way, he couldn't even get real economic data from local officials!
It is conceivable that these people are expected to share the struggle in the capital with Gordon? Isn’t that a dream or something!
I met Er Mao today and heard everything that happened after the breakup. My eyes widened in shock and my mouth opened wide!
Especially after hearing about the unjust case of Bajiao Liulijing, Gordon couldn't bear it any longer. He slammed the table and a bowl of tea, causing it to overturn!
"Shameless! This is no longer a humiliation to His Majesty, this kind of behavior is a provocation to the monarchy system around the world! Even if it is a constitutional monarchy implemented by the British Empire, the ministers would not dare to be so disrespectful to the Queen!"
"Which of all the British Prime Ministers was not respectful in front of the royal family? This is etiquette, this is the image of a country and the foundation of its political power!"
"We must not allow these bad guys to continue to be arrogant...haven't you thought of any way?"
Er Mao winked at his men, and the palace guards immediately began to clear the place. There were not many guests eating, so the guards clasped their fists and smiled and said, "I'm sorry, everyone, today is all mine... We are treating guests, so please stay out of the way." Okay? Thank you, thank you very much!"
No one dared to compete with the Ouchi guards and the steward, and soon the breakfast shop became empty. Er Mao just stood up with a serious face and bowed respectfully to Gordon!
"Sir, this bow is given to you by me on behalf of Lord Long Live!"
"Don't dare, don't dare!" Gordon was so frightened that he jumped up and ran away.
"My lord, there is no need to hide... You must be responsible. The emperor has not yet taken charge of the government. It is definitely not possible to fall out with those people directly. We do not have the strength to have a military showdown with them!"
"If Your Majesty insists on taking action now, I'm afraid the final result will be difficult! War is the last resort and cannot be used lightly!"
"But the arrogance of those people must be suppressed, otherwise they will not let go of their rights even if the emperor takes charge!"
"After much thought, I can only ask you, my ally, for this is a special period. Only allies can break this situation!"
ah! Gordon exclaimed: "Do you want me to exert influence on London? Do you need the British government to intervene?"
"It's too difficult, it's too difficult!"
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