"I heard from the eunuchs and maids that this year's summer resort is colder than in previous years. It has just entered September and the autumn wind has already rushed over with murderous intent. People in the Qing Dynasty called this the murderous air!"
Gordon, an Englishman, still lives in the Chengde Summer Resort. He refuses to leave. Emperor Tongzhi will not drive him away, and the two empresses will not offend the British for a mouthful of food.
Therefore, Gordon became a very important bystander of this chaotic incident, and his diary became the first-hand information for later historians to study the late Qing Dynasty and Emperor Tongzhi.
Gordon traveled between the military camp and the palace, and he could see and hear the sufferings of the people. Sometimes he was even Zai Chun's eyes, very impartial eyes.
"Your Majesty doesn't get much sleep every day now, and is replaced by coma. Of course, the imperial doctors and queen mothers are unwilling to admit it!"
"His Majesty sometimes tilts his head and falls asleep in Eunuch Ermao's arms while listening to the reports of his ministers. They say this is a good sign and means that the Emperor is resting!"
"But I know very well that His Majesty is not sleeping at all, he is in a coma, because His Majesty often stays up all night at night, sometimes crying silently, sometimes uttering unconscious insults!"
"The only thing worthy of being awake is that your Majesty can still handle government affairs when he is awake. Your Majesty is using his last bit of consciousness to work hard to maintain the operation of the Qing Dynasty Zhengshuo!"
"But the pessimistic atmosphere has spread. The eunuchs and maids in the summer resort were the first to feel it. More than once, I heard the eunuchs and maids secretly discussing when His Majesty will die. It used to be secret, but now it's like this The discussion has actually become semi-public!”
"There is also theft. More and more soldiers are gathering in Chengde. Mongolian cavalry also arrived in large numbers ten days ago. Although the Mongols brought a lot of cattle and sheep, the rations are still not enough!"
"Eunuchs, maids and even some guards are all stealing things. The most common thing is to steal food. Now some people are even stealing small furnishings in the palace, calligraphy and painting jade articles in the warehouse..."
"Almost every day, thieves are caught. At first they have to behead them to intimidate them, but in the end they find that beheading has no deterrent effect. These thieves are sent to the front lines as hard labor and work until they die!"
"There is nothing wrong with the front line. The situation on the front line is even more dangerous. With Gubeikou as the center, the Chengde court and the Jingshi court are already facing each other. The day of decisive battle is coming soon!"
Gordon's pen rustled, and a simple map was quickly drawn. Since he was a military general, his map skills were very solid. These suggested maps can even help future geographers to verify some ancient names.
Gubeikou is a very important pass between Juyongguan and Shanhaiguan on the Great Wall. The terrain is steep and full of canyons and cliffs. Whoever can control this place will be equal to ten.
But unfortunately, when Emperor Tongzhi retreated, the entire command system was in chaos. Not only Emperor Tongzhi was giving orders, but the Queen Mother of the two palaces and Lord Fuqing were also giving orders. The entire command center of the court was in chaos.
Cixi's order was to gather all the troops to protect her. When facing death, she showed a very normal reaction of a woman, which is fear, and that is, the more people around her, the better.
Unfortunately, the garrison at Gubeikou did not receive orders from Lord Fuqing to hold on, but received orders from the Queen Mother in unexpected confusion.
Lord Fuqing's post army and His Majesty's new army thought that they could not withdraw their troops, but they could not stop the old imperial camp, so the imperial garrison withdrew anyway, leaving behind two new troops who were unfamiliar with the place. Towards Gubeikou.
There were only 300 people, but they had to face more than 3,000 Yixin elites carrying heavy artillery. The result was predictable. Under the fierce artillery fire, Gubeikou fell, and only 100 of the 300 warriors were evacuated.
Hey... Gordon let out a long sigh, put down the pen, turned on the oil lamp, and then lit a pot of dry smoke for himself.
Chengde was running out of supplies, and the new cigarettes were out of stock. Gordon could only buy some spicy and strong dry tobacco leaves from the eunuchs.
But he didn't expect that this spicy tobacco could be so refreshing. Gordon survived many sleepless nights relying on this native tobacco.
"Now that Gubeikou has been lost, Master Fuqing can only retreat more than ten miles and build the first line of defense in Loess Liang. Fortunately, this is also a mountain range. Although it is not as steep as Gubeikou, at least there are mountains to take advantage of."
"The second line of defense is located in a place called Anziling. The mountains here are lower, so we can barely build a second line of defense."
"Master Fuqing has placed his headquarters in the ancient city of Luanping. I just came back from Luanping the day before yesterday. There are no traces of the common people anywhere. They have all fled. There are deserted farmlands and deserted villages for hundreds of miles. village."
"Barracks, there are barracks everywhere. Chengde has become a war zone. All the people who did not escape in time have become hard labor to repair the fortifications immediately. If it were not for Lord Fuqing's mercy, these people would probably starve to death!"
"The situation in Asia is very obvious at this moment. Two life-and-death situations are about to unfold on the sea and on land, and the key to breaking the situation lies with the master and the disciple."
"On land, Emperor Tongzhi's condition is very bad. Er Mao has made it clear that he asked the Chinese for magic medicine, which may be useful!"
"Now His Majesty's life and death is the key to the life and death situation on land. If His Majesty can get the magic medicine and come back to life, then this game can still be turned around!"
"Outside the Pass and in Mongolia, they only listen to your majesty and not to the rebel Yi Xin. As long as your majesty has time to stabilize people's hearts, reinforcements from the northeast and the Mongolian plateau will arrive one after another, and even the Chinese will free up their hands. Supplies are coming!”
"And on the sea, the life and death situation with Xiao Letian as the core is also affecting people's hearts. The head of state is not known whether he is alive or dead. In this context, the Chinese cannot be our opponent in the UK. When our powerful fleet defeats Xiang Ying..."
"We, Britain, will become the masters of the Qing Dynasty. Whether it is Emperor Tongzhi or Guiziliu, they will all surrender at the feet of Britain!"
"The only doubt is Xiao Letian's life or death. If Xiao Letian is still alive..." Gordon suddenly shuddered and tightened his military uniform tighter.
"I am British and I will always be loyal to my country and the Queen, but I have been here for too long and I always have an inexplicable emotion!"
"I really want to go to church to repent. Why do I always secretly reveal my intention to let Emperor Tongzhi and the Head of State win?"
"No, no, no, I can't think like that. What I want is for Emperor Tongzhi to win, not for the head of state to win... I'm not interested in the magical world shown by the Chinese people, yes, I'm not interested!"
Just when Gordon was confessing his disloyalty to Britain, suddenly there was a clanging sound outside, which was very clear in the dark night, followed by Cixi's hoarse, sharp and crazy voice.
"Er Mao, you must give me an explanation today. Where is the magic medicine? Where is the magic medicine?"
