Cixi asked, "Prince Gong, tell me what shortcomings Li Guolou has!" ”

Yixun smiled dumbly and said: "Politically, I am a Westernist like me, I like to try things, I like to dress as a fake foreign devil in my leisure time, I was scolded as a devil six, and he was scolded as a fake foreign devil in the criminal department, I belong to a class of people!" ”

Cixi hurriedly covered her face to prevent wrinkles from smiling on her face, which is also a trick to alleviate aging, and she rarely smiles, she usually doesn't like to show people with a smile, only in front of her lover, she will show a coquettish demeanor.

Yi Xun smiled and said: "But Li Guolou has a firm political stance and resolutely supports the rule of the Qing Dynasty, which I have tested him, there are no returnees from abroad, that kind of constitutional monarchy, private morality, young people like to be different, take a few foreign women and widows, but never listen to small songs, nor go to brothels, articles, poems are average, let him rack his brains, and he can also chant a few poems and eulogies, there are not many good works, but he can show his head in the mixed pile, his mouth is sharp and good at holding people, and the errand of the criminal department can be greeted and respected, and he belongs to the human spirit, I haven't heard of offending any chief, Li Guolou is still good at hard work, a veteran of solving cases, the theft of the Red Rabbit Rouge Beast in my house, that is, he saw through the hidden conspiracy at a glance, and broke the mystery, as it really is, it didn't take me any effort, and the Red Rabbit Rouge Beast was found back, he arrested the revolutionary party and the rebels were on the front line, which made Master Bao promoted to the ninth rank official in a few months, and he should be promoted to the seventh rank official with Li Guolou's military exploits, but he owed a little bit of private morality, so Bao Yi deliberately pressed his official position, gave him a nine-rank false title, and he did not enter the stream at the end, so Li Guolou was angry, and wanted to prove it to his chief, so he came to be admitted to the Jinshi! ”

Cixi is surrounded by people who fool her, even the old lover Yixun still deceives her, and she also thinks that she is a shrewd woman in the world, no one can hide it from her, in fact, her subordinates have long colluded together, where does Cixi know about the people's suffering, and she knows nothing about what the world has become, so she often makes wrong decisions, anyway, she believes that her own Manchurians and slaves are not wrong, and those Han courtiers must be careful to beware, and if they give birth to anti-bone people, they will be killed.

"Oh······" Cixi swept her eyes and stood next to Li Lianying, sure enough, as Li Lianying said, there was not much difference, Yixin said Li Guolou in a praising tone, mainly praise, while Li Lianying was talking about things with things, in order to be funny, and to be lively.

Cixi glanced at him and said: "Prince Gong, you trust him, so entrust the affairs of the mansion to an outsider, that is Li Zhongtang's grandson, not your grandson!" ”

Yi Xun smiled and said: "The Queen Mother, my house affairs, not for the country, and not for their own fame, since the country has given me high-ranking officials, and given me so many honors and rewards, I want to feed my mother, this country is surnamed 'Aijueluo', I want to be worthy of this great surname, since Li Guolou has stayed abroad, his third lady is French, and their family organizes public students to stay abroad, for appropriate, women also have a strong ability to do things, which I think the Queen Mother empathizes!" ”

Yixun's words caused the Empress Dowager Cixi to think for a long time, she likes to use minions and relatives to leave the benefits to her family, and she is wary of the Han people, hesitating, and still doubtful: "Prince Gong, then how do you say that Li Guolou should be used in order to give full play to his strengths!" ”

Yi Xun said softly: "Li Guolou is the emperor's side and Shen, by his emperor's side, nothing can be done, if the emperor doesn't use him, I will also use him, Li Guolou can also bring me wealth and glory, the queen mother, I haven't said that Li Guolou promised his uncle, how much silver does he raise for the Beiyang Navy every year, you guess it!" ”

Only Yixun dared to talk to the Empress Dowager Cixi like this, who told them to sleep in a bed at night.

Li Lianying next to him didn't seem to hear it, and he didn't go to see Cixi and Yixun staring at each other with eye contact, holding hands and caressing, and telling each other his heartfelt feelings, he looked at the sparkling lake water towards the Taiye Pool, the gulls and birds danced, cruising in the sky and preparing to catch the swimming fish, playing on the two dragon boats, a group of eunuchs controlled the oars, and the palace maids sang and danced on the dragon boats, and he looked boring, every day is the same old set of fun games, Li Lianying's ears were pricked up, eavesdropping on Cixi and Yixun's every word about Li Guolou, these are related to the good brother Li Guolou, He was the one he desperately wanted to hear.

Cixi flicked Yixun's hand and asked him to remain serious, don't let the slave see the joke, and said with a smile on the corner of her mouth: "There must be 300,000 taels!" ”

Yi Xun smiled and said: "The Queen Mother, guess one digit less, Li Guolou promised to raise three million taels of silver for the Beiyang Naval Division, and a total of 10 million taels of silver will be raised for the Beiyang Naval Division within three years, and there is only one requirement, that is, to let his family's "Please Come to the Bank" be fully rolled out in the Liangjiang and Zhili areas, and all the transactions of cash and material turnover will be handed over to the "Please Come to the Bank" for processing! ”

Yixin originally thought that Cixi would be very pleased, the country has produced a master of financial management, someone for the country to share worries, the imperial court a heavy financial burden to solve more than half, did not expect Cixi to listen to Yixi's words, her face changed, she felt that she was being tricked, immediately angry, why a private bank to Beiyang Navy to raise 10 million taels of silver, but there is no benefit to her, Yixin actually used 700,000 taels of silver to fool her, next year to let the household department allocate 600,000 taels of silver to the Ministry of Internal Affairs "Wanshoushan Project", this is clearly favoritism.

Cixi was angry, the corners of her mouth drooped, a pair of phoenix eyes turned into slanted eyes, and her cold eyes seemed to be about to kill, how could Yixi not see it, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "Queen Mother, what's so unhappy, those ticket numbers and money houses were originally privately run, what do we do, Caoyun is related to the rise and fall of the country, and it should be handed over to reliable people, Li Zhongtang has no hairpins, and the Zhili region is now under his jurisdiction, he has this power, as for the Liangjiang region, most of them are his students, and they don't need to go through a lot of trouble, Does the Queen Mother think it's inappropriate to let Li Guolou interfere······"

There are some words that can't be said clearly, Cixi said angrily: "What's the use of this palace for slaves!" ”

Yixun immediately understood, it turned out that Cixi wanted to go up the "Wanshou Mountain Project", and hurriedly said: "Oh, it's me who didn't think about it, I'll go back and coordinate with Li Zhongtang, the Queen Mother, you see how Sanqi opens." Said that Bi Yixun's eyes were staring at Cixi, poor Baba slave appearance, looking at Cixi, the meaning of thirty percent is 900,000 taels of silver, so much silver, Cixi just said, "What is the use of this palace for slaves." It was allocated from the account of the Beiyang Naval Division to the "Wanshou Mountain Project".

Cixi felt comfortable, with a look, Li Lianying brought the tea cup to her, Cixi took a sip of warm Pu'er tea, and did not answer directly, she still had to think clearly, she couldn't let Yixin and Li Hongzhang be embarrassed behind her back and betray her interests, Cixi stood up on the chair with both hands, and it was convenient to go.

Cixi's special toilet is carved from rosewood, the decorative pattern is five bats, which means that the five blessings are coming, the toilet is covered with fine sand, and there is a layer of mercury on it, and the toilet is sent to Cixi Xiao Dezhang is to put the toilet on the top of the head, enter the convenient place, at this time Xiao Dezhang is just Cixi's eunuch, and does not have much power, usually mixed with Li Lianying's buttocks, Cixi only needs to squat, and other matters are handled by two standing side maids, after Cixi is convenient, and then Xiao Dezhang puts the toilet on the top of the head, and takes the toilet out to wash.

To say that the emperor and the empress dowager are people like them, who even have to be served for dressing, convenience, and bathing, and never need to do it themselves, Cixi sat on the toilet, and still thought about the right talent in her mind, and got 900,000 taels of silver from Li Hongzhang Beiyang Sailor to pay filial piety, whether it was a profit or a loss, why would Li Guolou hand over such a large sum of money to the national defense cause as if paying taxes, Liangjiang and Zhili regions can have so much silver income, and the figure of three million taels of silver accounts for almost one-tenth of the country's annual fiscal revenue. Li Guolou actually wants to support the Qing Dynasty, is this possible?

Cixi returned to the warm pavilion and saw Yixin standing in front of the window enjoying the dragon boat performance in the Taiye Pool, and coughed lightly, letting Yixin know that she was back, and she should turn her eyes back, don't just stare at the palace maid who can sing and dance.

Yixun knew in his heart that Cixi left for a long time, and he had to think alone for a while, as the saying goes, like the Empress Dowager Cixi, who holds the authority of the country, she can't change her words, it's okay here, there are no outsiders around, say casual words, no one knows the content, if you go to the palace of nourishing the heart, go to the study and other places to listen to the curtains, it is by the historian to record their words and deeds, what to say should be thought clearly, don't be caught by the historian, the gossip is recorded, let future generations see the joke.

Cixi said slowly: "Prince Gong, the palace wants you to speak, the more I think about it, the more I feel fake, no one dares to say such a big thing, how can you believe it!" ”

Yi Xun smiled: "The Queen Mother, I not only believe, but also believe that only Li Guolou can do it, I have a Li Zhongtang recital here, which is about the establishment of the Post and Telecommunications Bureau in Liangjiang and Zhili areas, although this recital does not write Li Guolou's name, but the establishment of the Post and Telecommunications Bureau to squeeze the foreigner telegraph office, it is also Li Guolou who wants to make a high move, and the establishment of the Post and Telecommunications Bureau does not require national financial investment, Li Zhongtang Baoju Sheng Huaixuan is the first director of the Shanghai Post and Telecommunications Administration, and receives the rank of Seven Grades, and there is a Sheng Huaixuan recital here, Please also ask the Queen Mother to take a look! ”

"That's a lot of things." Although the Empress Dowager Cixi has a strong power**, but the interest in playing is also strong, she doesn't like to spend all her day discussing government affairs, looking at the two playbooks, flipping through them casually, as if she was immediately watching the flowers, and replied: "Prince Gong, let's discuss it in the heart hall tomorrow, and I'll be here today!" ”

The Empress Dowager Cixi is not wrong, even if she has figured it all out, agrees with the ideas of Prince Gong Yixun and Li Hongzhang, Minister of Beiyang Trade Affairs, and explains it to the Empress Dowager Ci'an, the two palaces are divided and go hand in hand, and the pattern has not changed, on the surface, major national issues need to be agreed with the Empress Dowager Ci'an, although behind her are all her ideas, the Empress Dowager Ci'an sees people accurately, and has the ability to discern pearls, but she is not clear about the national policy, and she can't understand the clichés in the folds, so Cixi is no longer interested in listening to Yixun's words, She only needs to know that there are 900,000 taels of silver to be honored, and it is useful to raise Li Guolou, a minion.

Stocking the heart of the palace discussion, that is to let the Tongzhi Emperor Zaichun, the Empress Dowager Ci'an and the minister of the study to discuss together, the curtain to listen to the core leaders of the government in the heart of the palace to make decisions on national affairs, that is, a small three-day meeting, the national decision-making level to meet, is also the Qing Dynasty court practice.

Yixun also does not have a sense of urgency, the formulation and implementation of the national policy is to be continuous, can not be changed overnight, every decree promulgated, must be checked at all levels, carefully referenced, implemented at different points, and then look at the effect, and then the whole country to follow, this is also the superiority of the supervision system, many decrees of the Qing Empire, are implemented in different provinces, the truth is the more debated, the clearer, he seems to see the beautiful future of the Qing Dynasty.

Yixun stood up and said with a smile: "Queen Mother, do you want me to accompany you today!" ”

"Well, Prince Gong, don't leave tonight." Cixi was hungry and thirsty, but still kept a suitable distance from Yixun, and the two stood at the window at the same time, and began to watch the dancing in the blue waves, the beautiful melody floating on the lake, the mother of the world, and the Taiye Pool enjoying the life of paradise on earth.