While the Qing court's clan magnates were negotiating a plan to flee from Beijing, Qin Zheng and Zhou Ping had already arrived in Tianjin on a naval warship from Qingdao.

Tianjin had already arranged accommodation and office rooms for the two of them, and after settling down in Tianjin, Liu Qinglin, commander of the 11th Field Army, and Gao Hongliang, mayor of Tianjin, came to report to Qin Zheng together. At this time, the eastern and southern armies of the People's Army had already approached in front of the city of Beijing, less than 10 kilometers away from the city, and were stationed separately at the exit of various gates in the southeast of the city, and could launch an attack on the city at any time. However, the northwest gate of Beijing City is still passable.

In addition, according to the report of the Beijing office, the order in Beijing has begun to be chaotic, and some people have fled from Beijing, just last night, Prince Qing's Mansion and Prince Alcohol's Mansion were robbed by the army, and caused casualties, and just at 6 o'clock this morning, an army of about 3 or 4,000 people left Beijing and headed west, carrying a large amount of baggage with the army, as well as family members, apparently powerful officials who fled Beijing en masse.

After listening to the report, Qin Zheng also frowned, and immediately ordered his staff officers to ask the 5th Field Army, which was responsible for capturing Xuanhua Mansion, cutting off the passage between Beijing and Shanxi, and at the same time preventing Shanxi's task of reinforcing the 5th Field Army, where was it now?

Then Qin Zheng asked again: "Have the captives been sent to Tianjin?"

Gao Hongliang said: "I arrived yesterday and has been settled." As he spoke, he handed the list file to Qin Zheng.

Qin Zheng took the information and opened it casually, the first page is Aixin Jueluo * Zaiyan, and recorded his age, height, weight, etc., as well as photos and numbers, the information is quite complete, the name on the second page is written Yehenala * Xingzhen, but looking at the photo is Cixi, Qin Zheng is also a little surprised, although he has studied the modern history of China in the old time and space, but he only knows that Cixi is Yehenara clan, nicknamed Lan'er, but I really don't know what Cixi's name is, and said: "Is this Cixi's name?"

Gao Hongliang said: "I also asked the Quartet, and they said that this is indeed the name of Cixi's self-report, and I know it for the first time." ”

Qin Zheng smiled, closed the information, and said, "Okay, I'll take a look at it slowly at night, how is their physical condition and mental state?"

Gao Hongliang said: "According to the information sent by the Quartet, the body is fine, but it still needs a few days to recuperate, as for the mental state, as a prisoner, it is definitely impossible to get better there." ”

Qin Zheng nodded and said with a smile: "This is the same, so let's arrange it tomorrow morning, Comrade Zhou Ping and I want to meet Zai Yan and Yehenala * Xingzhen." ”

Gao Hongliang said: "Okay, I'll go and inform them first." ”

So at about 8 o'clock the next morning, the staff of the prisoner camp took Guangxu and Cixi to Qin Zheng and Zhou Ping's offices.

Guangxu pushed open the door of the office, only to see Qin Zheng stand up from behind the desk, bypass the desk, and walk over, and said with a smile: "Mr. Zaiyan, we haven't seen each other for several years. ”

Guangxu was stunned for a while, and his heart was also full of mixed feelings, when he and Qin Zheng met, it was still when Gengzi changed to Xi'an, Qin Zheng's representative was still called overseas Chinese to Xi'an to meet Cixi and Guangxu, and was summoned by Cixi and Guangxu, and later Guangxu summoned Qin Zheng alone 2 or 3 times, and since then, Guangxu has never seen Qin Zheng, and of course has not seen other people in the East China government. And nearly 10 years have passed, of course, Guangxu and Qin Zheng are adults, and their appearance has not changed much in the past 10 years, but Guangxu has matured a little, and Qin Zheng has aged a little.

However, although Guangxu was forced back then, he was still the emperor of all times, and when he saw Qin Zheng, he was still summoned in the name meeting, although Qin Zheng tried his best not to be humble or arrogant when the two met, but after all, there was still a difference between the top and the bottom, Qin Zheng saw Guangxu, and he must be called the emperor or long live, and Guangxu was commensurate with Qin Zheng, and the meaning of respect and humility was very obvious. But now the two can be regarded as completely transposed, Guangxu has changed from a high emperor to a prisoner under the ranks, and Qin Zheng's title to Guangxu has also become "Mr. Zaiyan".

Although Guangxu has not had direct contact with the people of the East China Government over the years, he still knows a lot about the affairs of the East China Government, and knows that Qin Zheng's official position in the East China Government is the chairman of the Senate, Guangxu has a certain understanding of the government of modern countries, and knows what kind of position this is. But now it is really a little unspeakable to let Guangxu call Qin Zheng by these two positions, after all, Guangxu is still a little unable to let go of his identity as an emperor, even if he has become a prisoner. Therefore, Guangxu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Qin... Mr. Qin. ”

When Qin Zheng heard this, he didn't think it was strange, and said, "Please sit down, sit down and talk." ”

The two sat on the sofa in Qin Zheng's office, Guangxu was still a little restrained, and he was also habitually straightened and sat upright, while Qin Zheng leaned on the back of the sofa, much more relaxed. It looks like a new employee reporting to a leader.

Qin Zheng said: "Mr. Zaiyan, can you still get used to it during this time?"

Guangxu smiled bitterly and said, "The captured person, what else can he say, he can only be at peace with what happens." ”

Qin Zheng nodded and said, "It's good that you can think like this, the conditions in the captive camp are indeed much worse than when you were the emperor in the palace, but in my heart, compared to others, the conditions are quite good, although you are the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but in our place, you are just an ordinary captive, no different from others!" It's just that we consider that it is obviously unrealistic for you to accept the current identity change immediately, after all, a person's habits for decades are not easy to change so quickly, so we give you some special care, so that you have a period of transition, but we also hope that you can change as soon as possible and adapt to the new identity and new life, after all, these special care will not be too long. ”

Guangxu lowered his head, Qin Zheng's words were of course very harsh, but now that he is indeed not the emperor, what can he do, he can only swallow his anger, and hesitate for a while, Guangxu said: "Mr. Qin, there is one thing that I have never understood, I hope you can show me the way." ”

Qin Zheng nodded and said, "Oh, what is the problem, I don't dare to say any advice, but I can also use my knowledge to talk about my views and opinions, which may have a little reference effect for you." ”

Guangxu pondered for a while before he said: "Mr. Qin, the nobles were originally the old people of the first dynasty, not the people of my Qing Dynasty, and when they returned from overseas, the imperial court was in a time of crisis. But the imperial court to the nobles can not be said to be unkind, Shandong province to the nobles, can set up their own officials, similar to the town of Fan, such an honor, only when I entered the Qing Dynasty, there has been. I think that such a thick seal is also worthy of the merits of the nobles, and with the materials of the nobles, if I wholeheartedly support the Qing Dynasty, it is not difficult to expel the forces of various countries, and make my Qing Dynasty prosperous, and the nobles can also tassel for centuries, go down in history, and become a model for future generations. ”

After a pause, Guangxu said again: "Although the Qing Dynasty was the queen mother at that time, and my power was lost, with the strength of the nobles, it is not difficult to clear the monarch's side, be the dynasty outline, go to the evil spirit, support the true monarch, uphold righteousness, establish a new law, and then the monarch and the ministers work together, make great efforts to govern the country, and prosper the industry, so that the Qing Dynasty can enrich the country and strengthen the army, and be proud of the countries, but why do the nobles want to oppose our Qing Dynasty and destroy it quickly! Now that the general trend of the Qing Dynasty has gone, it is irreparable, but this mystery has always been in my heart, and I can't figure it out, and I ask Mr. Qin to explain a thing or two for me. ”

After saying these words, Guangxu also let out a long breath, these words were also asked to Yang Rui when he was captured, Yang Rui did not answer him at that time, but scolded him, saying that the territory of the East China Government was all fought by himself, not rewarded by the Qing court. And later Guangxu recalled that these words were not wrong, whether it was Tianjin, Shandong, Shanghai, or Northeast China, they were all taken down by the East China Government, but some of them were taken back from the foreigners, and sometimes they were robbed by the Qing court, so today I asked Qin Zheng this question again, but some changes were made, but the general meaning is the same.

Qin Zheng said: "I understand your thoughts, and I can answer them for you." ”

Guangxu was still a little apprehensive in his heart, for fear that Qin Zheng would get angry, saying that he couldn't let go of the emperor's shelf, but when he heard Qin Zheng say that he could answer for himself, he couldn't help but feel refreshed, anyway, this question has plagued him for several years, and now he can finally know the answer, although it is impossible to reverse the situation, but he can also end a piece of his heart.

Qin Zheng said: "Mr. Zaiyan, first of all, I want to explain that our East China government actually has no ill will towards you personally, although during the time you were the emperor, the Qing court did nothing internally and externally, and further lost power and humiliated the country, and the situation worsened, further deepening China's suffering, but in my heart, you should not be responsible for all these consequences, because although you are the emperor, you are just a puppet emperor, and you have no real power, and it is the Yehenala clan that really controls the political situation, and these responsibilities should be borne by her." On the contrary, we are very sympathetic to your situation, and I am afraid that this emperor is not very comfortable. ”

After Guangxu heard this, he was also quite moved, but the puzzlement in his heart was even heavier, and he couldn't help asking: "That is the case, then why don't you send troops to Qingjun's side and are in the court?"