Li Lianying, it's still him. On the way home, Guan Zhuofan, who was sitting in the car, smiled to himself. The arrangement of history has its own way, and this kind of powerful inertia in the dark, as a traverser, should really be in awe.

Fortunately, it's still him. Li Lianying in history, although he has always been shrouded in the fog of various folklore, but for him, the historian of the right path basically has a fair opinion: this is a kind person, only planting flowers, not thorns; Only help others, do not harm others. Also, of course, Li Lianying is also greedy for money, but he is cautious and strictly observes the division, and he will never stretch out his hand that should not be stretched.

The words on his epitaph, "Respect in things, leniency in things, if there is a year, I have not slackened a little", is not a lie.

The most rare point is that although Li Lianying is loyal to Cixi, she is not a person who is unprincipled and attached to her master. The Wuxu reform failed, Guangxu was imprisoned by Cixi, and the only one in the entire palace who was willing to take care of Guangxu was Li Lianying. Guangxu himself said: "If it weren't for Li Chenda, I wouldn't be alive today." ”

The Eight-Nation Alliance entered the city, Cixi took Guangxu to hunt in the west, and attacked Concubine Zhen before leaving, so this messenger could not send Li Lianying, but sent the deputy chief eunuch Cui Yugui.

In fact, it is precisely because of the Wuxu period that Li Lianying did not "stand clearly" on the side of Cixi, and Li Daban has been favored since then.

Of course, Li Lianying's behavior can also be regarded as a means of self-preservation, An Dehai has made mistakes in the past, if he still complains everywhere like him, what will happen to him, there is a version to see. Take 10,000 steps back, even if Cixi is willing to defend herself, what about after the death of the Queen Mother? As soon as the iceberg fell, a eunuch. Isn't it the enemy's fish?

At all costs. This is a man of knowledge. Plus the benevolent connection between Guan and Lee. Guan Zhuofan is sure that Li Lianying will become his powerful assistant and eyes and ears in the palace.

But at the same time, Guan Zhuofan also reminded himself that he couldn't overstate his illusions about Li Lianying. He will be attached to himself, but he may not become his own "private" - Li Lianying can't even be 100% Cixi's "private", let alone Guan Zhuofan?

There is one phenomenon that deserves attention, and there are two people in the Qing Dynasty who can barely be called "power supervisors" -- An Dehai and Li Lianying. It is no accident that they all came from the Cixi Palace.

"Eunuchs can't interfere in politics" is in front of the ancestral motto, and there is also a "harem can't interfere in politics". Cixi's harem interfered in politics, and her recognition of "eunuchs can't interfere in politics" was already low, plus she read less books, and she didn't understand much about the lessons of eunuchs and misleading the country, and she couldn't form a corresponding solid concept, and her resistance and prevention of reusing eunuchs were very limited.

The most important thing is what Guan Zhuofan analyzed before, one. The heroine of the deep palace has little knowledge. Nor is she free to move, and eunuchs are her most important channel for obtaining first-hand information from the outside world. Second, the curtain does not conform to the ancestral system, theoretically, all the important ministers are her potential opponents, and the four sides do not rely on the bottom of the lonely queen mother, and it is natural for the psychology of relying on the "people around her".

This is really a "problem of the system".

Cixi's "gaffe" in the Lu affair was fundamentally due to the fear of Guan Zhuofan, the most important "person around him", who might be shaken and changed, which gave rise to a strong backlash. In the final analysis, it is to ensure that Guan Zhuofan, the "person around her" - her most important support - does not "deteriorate".

This is not exactly the same thing as the jealousy of ordinary women.

Thinking of this, a cold smile appeared on the corner of Guan Zhuofan's mouth. This time the ups and downs are really not a bad thing.

In the palace of cultivating the heart, although Cixi's words were euphemistic, the remorse in them was very obvious, and now Cixi's psychology towards Guan Zhuofan was no longer that Guan Zhuofan was sorry for her, but that she was sorry for Guan Zhuofan.

This is the best time for Guan Zhuofan to further consolidate his power, and it is also the best time for him to promote major policies.

Also, this turmoil, of course, was Cixi's efforts to "subdue" Guan Zhuofan, but in turn, it also pointed out the way for Guan Zhuofan to strengthen his influence and control over Cixi. Well, you can be a little bolder, and you have to step a little faster.

Guan Zhuofan's judgment of Cixi's psychology is basically accurate.

Cixi, who returned to Changchun Palace, was still in turmoil.

Previously, the "five-foot-tall blood coral" in Guan Zhuofan's mansion had been proven to be pure falsehood.

When King Fujin entered the palace, Cixi asked her about this-King Fujin often went to Guan Zhuofan's Beizi Mansion to visit the door, and there were her two "sisters" there. Alcohol King Fujin thought about it for a long time, and he couldn't remember where he had seen any "blood coral", let alone "five feet tall".

Could it be that every time King Fujin arrived at Beizi Mansion, the Guan family put away the blood coral? Are you really so afraid of trouble? What's more, there are more princes and ministers who have dealings with the Guan family, and the role of King Fujin is such a good thing, and I haven't heard anyone say that there is such a blood coral in Beizi Mansion, so it is impossible for anyone to come, and the Guan family has put away the coral in advance, right?

The same question was also asked to Li Lianying - at that time, he was still called Li Jinxi, and he also went to Yiyong and Loyal Beizi Mansion to deliver the decree. The eunuch will not greet him in advance, and he can't hide anything in time. Cixi asked very "skillfully", pretending to be casual and casual: "Is the big coral in Guan Zhuofan's mansion white?" ”

Li Jinxi was slightly stunned and said, "Back to the master, the slave has never seen any big coral in Guan Beizi's mansion. ”

Today, the "mirror" incident has proved to be also An Dehai's lie.

Under his anger, he was also dizzy. In fact, if you think about it carefully, you can find the biggest flaw in An Dehai's words: the Lu family's house is no better than Beizi Mansion, except for Guan Zhuofan himself, there will never be anyone else, including An Dehai. Not to mention the boudoir room? So how can he know the specific furnishings?

Cixi felt bitter in her heart, she actually fell into the trap of a eunuch and fell against her most trusted national first assistant!

The reason why An Dehai framed Guan Zhuofan is very clear, and he can't interfere in the garden work, which is a whimsical delusion. He prides himself on being wise, how can he be at the mercy of a lowly eunuch?

He didn't build the Old Summer Palace for the good of the country; He built the Summer Palace for his own good—but he, alas!

Cixi's heart was as uncomfortable as a fire.

Lu's matter, of course, is that he is wrong! However, since the Lu family has gone away and the Cixi who has come to her senses, she can't help but admit that Guan Zhuofan is just "the big head can't control the small head" in the Lu family, and there is no trace of the meaning of the Queen Mother - then again, which man really "can control the small head with a big head"?

Seeking full blame, I'm afraid that there is no meaning of "from the outside", and I have been forced out of the meaning of "from the outside"!

Cixi was terrified, how to bridge the possible rift between herself and Guan Zhuofan?

*

*

In the next few days, the military plane was called, and the monarch and ministers discussed two matters that would have a major impact on China's future development, one was the construction of railways, and the other was the issuance of treasury bonds.

When Guan Zhuofan was in the United States, he began to work hard in China. When he returned to China, before he sent troops to suppress the rebellion, he openly and secretly delivered a message to the powerful people for the construction of the railway. Some know it with reason, some move it with profit, and some directly pave the road with silver. The military plane had reached a consensus, and the road was also as bottomed out as possible, and it was originally planned to start immediately after the year, but I didn't expect to bump into An Dehai's file first.

Guan Zhuofan knew that it was not a good time to discuss major politics before the dust settled on the An case, so he kept holding back, and waited until An Dehai finally became a piece of rotten meat in the Shen Criminal Department of the Internal Affairs Office.

Guan Zhuofan said in the recital: "The benefits of the railway cannot be described in the transportation affairs, relief services, commerce, mining affairs, donations, and travel, and especially in the use of troops. ”

There are two reasons for the so-called "use of troops in particular."

First, "Our country has a vast territory, and if we draw a frontier and defend it, we will not be able to prevent it, and if we rush back and forth, we will not be able to reach it." Only as soon as the railway is opened, the east, west, north and south, breathing together, seeing the enemy's trend, the camera responds, although thousands of miles away, a few days can be reached, millions of people, a call and gather. ”

Second, "the combination of soldiers is strong, and the division is weak." Based on the eighteen provinces of China, there are not many soldiers, and the salary is not insufficient, but here and there, each has one heart, and when there are soldiers, they are too busy to take care of themselves, and they are unable to pay and transfer troops. If the railway is completed, the momentum will be contacted, the blood will be connected, the troops will be cut and the salary will be reduced, and it will become a strong force, defend the border and the sea, transfer guns and artillery, and arrive in the morning and evening. ”

Moreover, in this way, "the garrison troops can be used for guerrilla tours, and the eighteen provinces are combined into one, and one soldier can be used for more than a dozen soldiers." In the future, the power of the military and the right to pay will be in the imperial court, and will not be controlled by the ministers. ”

*(To be continued......)