The next day, above the court, the Qing court quarreled and opened the pot.

As soon as the court meeting began, Sun Yuwen, the secretary of the military department, submitted the war report of the DPRK.

Cixi and Guangxu routinely finished reading the report.

Cixi Gujing Wubo's face finally saw a smile, and said: "Yes, yes, this Nie Shicheng really has the ability, and even the enemy chieftains of the Japanese slaves were captured alive." Everyone, Nie Shicheng won a big victory in North Korea, and nearly 1,000 people under Yoshimasa Oshima, the head of the Japanese Invasion Brigade, were captured, everyone should discuss it and see how to reward it. ”

"Lafayette, the emperor, according to Weichen's opinion, Nie Shicheng has won such a great victory in the court, and even captured the enemy chieftain alive, which greatly shocked my **** national prestige and shocked the Western powers, which is really a great merit and should be rewarded. So that the government and the opposition know that they are so loyal and brave and loyal to the country, and the royal family will definitely reward them and treat them with great kindness. Your Majesty should reward the world to show the world that all those who are loyal to the affairs of the state have the gifts of the country, so that the virtuous and capable people of the Qing Dynasty can have the courage to do things and revitalize the dynasty. Li Hongzao, Minister of Military Aircraft, Prime Minister and Minister of Yamen, came out of the class and said.

"The Queen Mother, Your Majesty, the minister thinks that what Lord Li said is a little inappropriate, not long ago the imperial court promoted Nie Shicheng to the governor of Zhili, and the reward is not ungenerous. If you increase the reward, I am afraid that the courtiers will talk about it, but it will not be good, the court only needs to be kind and soothing, and give more gold and silver, as for the official rank, you can postpone it to see how the Korean war situation goes. "Nie Shicheng is Li Hongzhang's henchman, Weng Tong Ya doesn't want Nie Shicheng to be in a high position again, the Huai system is already a bit too big to lose, and if Nie Shicheng is promoted to a prominent position, it will be even more difficult to control.

Prince Li Shiduo replied: "Queen Mother, Your Majesty, now North Korea is the time to employ people, the war between China and Japan is in full swing, and the imperial court has placed a heavy reward on Nie Shicheng, which can boost morale and make the former enemy soldiers fight to the death; The second can also be that the world knows that the court rewards and punishes a degree, and it is the folk scholars who are out of office and used by me; Third, giving Nie Shicheng a heavy reward, which is also convenient for Nie Shicheng to be exclusive in the court, and it is more convenient for him to dispatch the men and horses of various departments and agree to fight against Japan; The minister thought that it was appropriate to reward him heavily. ”

Weng Tongyi argued: "But now that the Beiyang family is already too powerful, and if it is more powerful, how can the imperial court check and balance?" ”

Cixi nodded when she heard this: "Master Weng, Li Hongzhang's mourning family is still trustworthy, in the past few years, it has indeed suffered Beiyang, and the number of troops and military expenses has been reduced again and again, and Li Hongzhang has no complaints. Prince Li is reasonable, so let's do what Prince Li wants. Then how to reward it, does Your Majesty have any opinions? ”

Guangxu was expressionless, and said lightly: "Erchen has no opinions, and please ask your father to call the shots." ”

Cixi frowned, and a wave of boredom rose in her heart, this emperor was always this kind of attitude, which was really annoying.

Cixi said indifferently: "Since this is the case, then reward Nie Shicheng with a third-class loyal uncle, the title of secretary of the military department, and order the minister of war in North Korea, and all affairs of North Korea will be decided by Nie Shicheng, and another thousand taels of gold and 100 horses of brocade." Nie Shicheng compromised and asked for everything. Awarded the title of Zhang Yiyi Yong Baturu, the chief instructor of the military training of various ministries of the DPRK, and concurrently the commander of the military training of Nie Shicheng Lutai, the commander of the army, and the rank of commander-in-chief, awarded Xu Huaijin as the counselor of the former army of the DPRK and the counselor of the pre-military affairs. As for the dispatch of reinforcements, all the ministers and ministers, discuss again, where are the elite soldiers to be deployed, how to prepare money and food, how to prepare the affairs of various parts of the country, and which minister is willing to take charge of the order? ”

Cixi's words came down, and everyone in front of them was silent. Without him, now in the DPRK, where are there ministers who understand war and foreign affairs. Although Li Hongzao is the prime minister's affairs and yamen affairs, he is not proficient in war and foreign affairs, and other people such as Prince Li, Weng Tongyi, and Sun Yuwen are not this material.

Seeing that everyone was no longer speechless, Cixi was secretly angry in her heart, and said unhappily: "The Great Qing Dynasty, when there is a war, you will keep silent, where are you who fought out of the war earlier?" Now that the battle is on, what is your good plan? Do we have to take care of all these matters on our own? ”

When the ministers saw that the Queen Mother was angry, they hurriedly knelt down and said in fear: "The Queen Mother is angry, and the ministers are waiting for the death penalty!" ”

Cixi waved her hand helplessly and said, "That's it, you guys get up, talk about it and see if you have any opinions." ”

Prince Li kowtowed and said: "Lafayette, there are few people who are proficient in foreign affairs and military affairs in the court, Wen Zhenggong has died early, and Wen Xianggong has also passed away; Li Hongzhang, Liu Kunyi, Zhang Zhidong and others are all far away, the mountains are high and the rivers are far away, and the ministers of the DPRK and China are all civil ministers, which is difficult to deal with. Ministers, ministers think ......"

When Prince Cixi saw that Prince Li hesitated, she waved her hand and said: "It's okay, if you have something to say, it's all your own family, and there is something else to hide." ”

Prince Li gritted his teeth and said, "Queen Mother, the minister thinks that the Queen Mother can consider recovering Prince Gong." Prince Gong presided over foreign affairs in his early years, became the master of the military aircraft, operated and exterminated the red-haired rebel party, and had a lot of contacts with Wen Zhenggong and other important foreign ministers, and was familiar with military affairs and foreign affairs. ”

When Cixi heard this, she raised her eyebrows and looked directly at Prince Li. Shi Duo was seen by Cixi's heart weakened, and hurriedly lowered his head.

Cixi shook her head and said helplessly: "Your Majesty, what do you have to worry about?" ”

Guangxu still replied: "Erchen has no opinions, everything is arranged by his father." ”

Cixi was angry for a while, the emperor she chose really couldn't help herself, either she didn't speak, or she stared at her own meaning and objected, which really added to her own blockage.

Cixi said angrily: "Proposed decree to restore Prince Gong? Minister of Military Aircraft, Chief Minister of Prime Minister Yamen, Counselor of the Military Aircraft of the DPRK. called Li Hongzhang, Liu Kunyi, and Zhang Zhidong to ask for the opinions of Jiang Chen; In addition, he called Li Hongzhang in Tianjin and ordered him to enter Beijing as soon as possible to meet ......"

Tianjin, Li Hongzhang's mansion, now Li Hongzhang is sad and happy. The night before, Li Hongzhang had just received Nie Shicheng's good news, and he was happy for a night, and said in his heart, Nie Shicheng was worthy of being the cadre of the Huai army, and he would win every battle. The Zhang Yi under him is even more skilled, he led a battalion of more than 600 people alone, and even withstood the attack of thousands of Japanese troops on the top of Maoer Mountain for three days, and finally was able to counterattack, which is really outstanding, and he must be entrusted with important tasks in the future.

That night, Li Hongzhang called back to Nie Shicheng and praised Zhang Yi in the message.

The next night, I received a telegram from Ding Ruchang, stating the details of the battle of Dadonggou, after the first battle, although the Japanese navy's losses were higher than those of the Beiyang Navy, but the Beiyang Naval Division also suffered heavy losses, and the generals Deng Shichang and Huang Jianxun were martyred, and the battleships also lost a lot, which was Li Hongzhang's lifeblood, and the distressed Li Hongzhang's tears were about to fall.