"It doesn't matter whether we slaves live a good or bad life, but we can't lose the face of Lafayette."
"We still know Lord Ronglu's ability, and that's this."
He said and gave a thumbs up.
"But even if Master Ronglu has the ability to reach the sky, and the generals below are not cooperating, then all he can do is say something like that, why are you sighing like a pig?"
"Looking at the ocean and sighing!"
"Yes, yes, Lafayette is right. Even if you look back and sigh, Lafayette still has culture."
Cixi was also amused by Li Lianying.
"Lafayette, please stop making fun of me. You also know that my slave has no education and has never read a book. He only learned a few words after following Lafayette."
"Hahaha, little plum, stop playing tricks."
"Rong Lu, please get up too. You do have a lot of difficulties in this matter, and it's because I didn't think it through well."
"But, after all, you lost the battle. You can escape the death penalty, but you cannot escape the living penalty."
"Just quit the Military Aircraft Department, don't take up the post of Grand Bachelor, and don't take up the post of Admiral of the Nine Sects. You will be retained even at two levels, and you will be fined three years' salary."
Ronglu immediately knelt down. As long as his life was saved, as long as Cixi was around, he would be promoted sooner or later.
His honor and salary cannot be separated from Cixi, and Cixi cannot be separated from his honor and salary.
Cixi was also reluctant to give up. The only one who was so obedient was Rong Lu. He really couldn't trust others.
After Rong Lu retreated, he begged Gang Yi for mercy, and Gang Yi was demoted two levels to stay.
The two of them saved their lives. After leaving the palace, they kept a low profile as much as possible and did not dare to make any publicity. There was still a test to pass tomorrow morning.
During the morning meeting the next day, Ronglu stood outside the main hall, wearing only a single coat and carrying a bundle of sticks on his back.
The other ministers were stunned when they saw this. What is going on?
Prince Gong has not left yet. He is still waiting for the Eight Banners soldiers to continue to win the battle. After all, Cixi will not let him leave and is ready to continue to purge him.
When Prince Gong saw Ronglu's appearance, his head was buzzing.
Only two words appeared in my mind: "It's over"!
After the meeting begins.
Cixi said: "Which... dear friends, our army in Shanxi has been defeated and the entire army of 160,000 has been wiped out. Ministers, please quickly think of a solution!"
Prince Gong came out: "Back to the Queen Mother, we have a total of 160,000 troops in Shanxi. We have been holding on for a year. Why were we suddenly defeated?"
Then Cixi made a fuss about being honored and honored to appear in the palace.
Ronglu repeated what he told Cixi yesterday with added detail.
It's just a reason, mainly to pass the test of Prince Gong, the opinions of other ministers are not important.
After hearing this, Prince Gong's veins popped out and his eyes were fierce. He wanted to rush forward and kill Ronglu, a despicable person.
His body was shaking slightly, which was due to anger. He walked step by step to the middle and knelt down in front of Zai Tan.
"Your Majesty, Queen Mother, this dog slave suffered defeat on his own. They didn't notice the obvious attempt to lure the enemy deeper."
"Master Du Xing'a must have created an opportunity for them to break out, so they disappeared. They may have died in the battle."
"They relied on the fact that there was no evidence to support the death and put all the blame on General Death."
"This is unfair to the generals who are loyal to our Qing Dynasty. It chills the hearts of other generals. Who else will dare to sacrifice their lives for our Qing Dynasty in the future?"
"I beg the Queen Mother to execute Ronglu!"
After speaking, Prince Gong knelt down and pressed his head hard to the ground.
Prince Gong and some centrists and Ronglu's bitter enemies fell to their knees.
"I beg the Queen Mother to execute Ronglu!"
Soon Weng Tonghe stood up.
"Queen Mother, I think Master Ronglu is guilty, but his crime does not lead to death."
Weng Tonghe and Ronglu were sworn brothers, so they stood up to speak for him.
"Oh, tell me."
"yes."
"Sir Ronglu was defeated because the generals did not obey orders."
"All generals still miss Zuo Zongtang."
"This is obviously not taking the Queen Mother's decree seriously."
"To put it lightly, they are disobeying orders; to put it seriously, they are gathering in crowds to rebel."
"Zuo Zongtang's status in their hearts is actually higher than your prestige, the Queen Mother. Are they my troops of the Qing Dynasty, or Zuo Zongtang's personal armed forces?"
"The fault is not with one person, but with a group of people below them, so I think Lord Ronglu's crime is not worthy of death!"
Next, Ronglu's group, Weng Tonghe's group, and Cixi's group all knelt down.
"Lord Ronglu, your crime is not worthy of death!"
"Master Ronglu has made great contributions..."
Prince Gong almost cried with anger after hearing this.
Cixi said: "Huh, Zuo Zongtang is so impressive. These damn soldiers deserve to die for disobeying the imperial order."
Prince Gong said: "Queen Mother, you can't listen to his words. All this is just his refusal."
"Okay, Prince Gong, I don't have many available talents in the Qing Dynasty. I can forgive Ronglu and Zuo Zongtang this time."
"Publish the imperial edict of mourning for the family. If he fails to fight in glory and honor, and has failed the emperor's favor, he will be specially removed from the crown and wearing feathers. He will be removed from the post of bachelor of the cabinet, removed from the post of minister of military aircraft, removed from the post of admiral of the nine gates, demoted by two levels in a row, and fined three years' salary." As punishment.”
This punishment is neither fearful nor severe for ordinary ministers, but his honor and salary are different. These things are all empty to him. As long as he is still favored, he will one day be reinstated.
The money he embezzled was enough for his salary for several years. How could he care about this little money?
Ronglu seized the opportunity and kowtowed immediately to accept the order.
Today, when Prince Gong led a group of ministers to request his execution, he was still very nervous.
Although she had an affair with the Queen Mother yesterday, she was afraid that Cixi would not be able to withstand the pressure.
Also, this is the Rehe Palace, not the Imperial Palace in the capital, and many princes and ministers did not come to Rehe.
Many people who came to Rehe were Cixi's people.
Prince Gong lay on the ground and did not get up. He really didn't know what Zuo Zongtang's crime was.
Zuo Zongtang didn't show his face from beginning to end. Just because of suspicion, Zuo Zongtang took another big blame.
Zuo Zongtang defended Shanxi for more than a year without any problems, and Ronglu was defeated before he could defend for a month.
They also wiped out the 70,000 to 80,000 new troops trained by Zuo Zongtang in Shanxi.
In the end, Ronglu was only punished lightly.
"Queen Mother, since you have issued the decree, I have nothing to say, but I would like to ask the Queen Mother, if Shanxi and Shandong are lost, what should we, the Qing Dynasty, do?"
"The gates of Zhili are wide open, and Zhili has become the front line of the battle. Our Qing troops in Shaanxi are about to face multiple attacks and are about to be in danger."
"Please make a decision, Queen Mother."
After speaking, Prince Gong wiped his tears with his sleeves. He was really aggrieved, mainly because the Qing Dynasty was about to be destroyed in the hands of his generation.
He didn't know how to meet Kangxi, Qianlong, his grandfather Jiaqing, his father Daoguang, his brother Xianfeng, and his nephew Tongzhi after he died.
Cixi rubbed her temples, feeling a severe headache.
This matter is too nerve-wracking. The Qing Dynasty originally had very little territory left, but now it has lost Shanxi and Shandong, and Shaanxi is about to be lost.
"Prince Gong, what do you think?"
"The Queen Mother, I still suggest that we abolish the Eight Banners soldiers and build a new army. We choose a country to purchase foreign weapons to avoid chaos and facilitate training."
"Then shrink the troops, order the Shaanxi army to withdraw, preserve the living strength, take away all the treasures, and leave a mess for the Tenglong army."
"Delay the advance of the Tenglong Army as much as possible. We concentrate our forces to defend Zhili, northeastern Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Shengjing, and North Korea."
