Cixi was laughing. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info Of course, it's a smile that fits her identity perfectly, and everyone can see that she's happy.

But she shouldn't be happy, she shouldn't laugh.

The feared Empress Dowager, who had been cursed by countless people but ruled China, had apparently reacted completely wrong—at least Rong Lu, who looked down at his own boots, to think it was a completely wrong reaction. The Empress Dowager Lafayette should be angry, she should be angry, she should severely reprimand the emperor, the Kangliang rebels, the foreigners, and the governors of all places—look at what they have done.

The emperor wanted to seize the power held by Lafayette, and the Kang Liang rebels used the emperor's authority to act mischiefly and wantonly attack Lafayette's wings, and the foreigners sent troops to support the emperor, and the governors of various places actually declared neutrality at such a critical moment. None of them are good, on the contrary, all of them are bad.

At such a moment, how can Lafayette still laugh and be happy?

She should be angry, that's the right response.

Why is this happening? Rong Lu couldn't figure it out at all, and couldn't find an answer, although it might have been a good thing for him—when he and the adults from the Military Aircraft Department came to see the Queen Mother Lafayette with that hot potato-like telegram, they all thought that they would be the object of her anger. He thought for a while, and secretly turned his eyes to Duanjun Wang Zaiyi, who was standing beside him, but what he saw was an equally confused gaze; The same is true when you look at another minister.

In fact, not only the three of them, but every minister standing in front of Cixi was equally confused, not knowing what this was because of, and all of them wanted to know the answer. The only thing they can be sure of is one thing: the Queen Mother Lafayette is normal and has not gone crazy.

However, how is it possible for a perfectly normal person to smile happily after receiving so much bad news?

Everyone was thinking in confusion and racking their brains, but no one had the courage to ask their Queen Mother Lafayette directly - it was too dangerous, and since no one could guess Lafayette's thoughts, she could not see her mood, and the result of rash questioning was probably just to accidentally bury herself completely - no minister was willing to pay such a high price for a definite answer.

They kept their patience, and of course they were patient, and Cixi was still smiling happily.

But in the end, she put away all her smiles and replaced them with a chilling expression of indifference. "It's easy to ask God to send God, but the mourning family wants to see how the emperor is going to end this matter."

She knew it would be difficult for him to do that.

She knew a piece of news that the princes and ministers in front of her didn't know for the time being.

Emperor Guangxu was worried.

He shouldn't be worried, just as Cixi shouldn't be happy, but now, their position is completely reversed. Although the American GIs who had come to "King Qin" had landed in Tianjin, and although the governors had declared neutrality, the New Army in Tianjin had also taken the same stance...... Well, that shouldn't be good news, but in theory he should still be happy...... It's just that Guangxu just can't be happy.

He could not be happy, for the two envoys, who were sitting in front of him calmly, had brought him not very good news.

They brought the conditions of the British government and the US government, the conditions that supported him to seize power and fight against the Empress Dowager, and Qin Lang's conditions.

The conditions that make it difficult for him.

Two railways, and a railway connecting the north and south of China! Guangxu was not a fool who didn't know anything, and of course he knew how much trouble this request would cause him - strictly speaking, a disaster. Although it is slightly better than Tan Sitong's previous proposal, it is only slightly better. It is certain that if the demands of the British and Americans were met, riots would break out everywhere.

Moreover, to a certain extent, it is also against his will, and it will make him feel disgraced.

Guangxu was an emperor with lofty ideals, and he dreamed of reviving the Qing Dynasty, and he was doing it, which is a well-known fact. But it would still be a blow to him if the British and American conditions were to approve the unreserved transfer of the right to build the two railways and all related interests to London and Washington, even though it would be necessary to consolidate his dominance and power and to enable him to obtain a better political environment for carrying out his reform program.

A heavy blow.

In fact, Emperor Guangxu had ratified many unequal treaties and demands, but that was before, and he could rightfully shift all the blame to that old woman and her henchmen, it was all the fault of these people, it had nothing to do with him, he was just a poor rubber stamp...... As an emperor, he can think so, only now, all those who should be responsible can clean themselves up, and he can only take responsibility for himself.

And this is what Guangxu doesn't want to see, he doesn't want to let himself be stained.

It's just that he can't realize this wish, he can't help but agree to the conditions jointly put forward by Britain and the United States, he has no choice, not at all. Since the provincial governors and the new army in Tientsin declared neutrality one after another, Guangxu was very angry about this, but there was nothing he could do, and the governors of the provinces were not fully under his command, at most, he could only vent his anger on the eunuchs - and now, the only forces he could rely on were the British fleet and the 7,000 soldiers of the United States, and the reinforcements that could come at any time.

The Anglo-American alliance was his only reliance, and once he lost it, the old woman, who had been thoroughly enraged, would crush him like a maggot to death.

Despite his extreme reluctance and feeling very faceless, Guangxu had to admit that his strength was very weak, so he didn't have much choice.

But he still wants to make a little choice so that the outcome doesn't get too bad.

Guangxu looked at the two envoys and said in the dignified tone of an emperor: "Mr. Morrison, Mr. Hartman, I am grateful for the help provided by Great Britain and the Great American Government, but I also feel that the conditions proposed by your government are a little harsh, so I hope that some changes can be made." ”

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty the Emperor, but it's impossible." Morrison said apologetically. Although he also found London and Washington to be demanding and unacceptable, he could do nothing to change the situation - he did not even have the authority to make recommendations.

Neither did Hartman.

They were only messengers, and they were improvised civilian messengers: George. Ernister. Morrison is a China correspondent for The Times. Hartman is a salesman for the Big Viper Arms Company and is just a small person. They were able to become government envoys for only one reason, and the diplomats remembered the misfortune of Sir Pashali and his negotiating delegation, and for their own safety they decided that they would never enter Beijing unless they were protected by the army. But before the Umbrella mercenaries arrived, they had to find someone to convey the demands of London and Washington to the Queen Mother and the Emperor, so Mr. Morrison and Harriman were selected to be the rats who went to tie the bell to the cat.

It's just that the expected terrible situation didn't happen, and there wasn't even any sign of it. The officials in Beijing, whether on the side of the Empress Dowager or on the side of the Emperor, were polite, even a little cautious, apparently afraid of accidentally drawing coalition forces to Beijing.

It is evident that just as what happened to Sir Pashali and his negotiating delegation was a constant warning to Western diplomats, and the "good deeds" done by the Anglo-French forces in Beijing were a constant reminder to the Chinese government officials - of course, this was only Mr. Journalist's point of view, and the arms salesman had a different view, but he did not want to talk about it.

The British envoy and the American envoy were two very different people: Morrison was a journalist, so he volunteered for a mission just to get an explosive piece of news that would make headlines; Hartman works for the Great Viper Weapons Company, and when Yi Shui orders him to accept the assignment, he can only accept.

So, they behaved completely differently, Morrison was more proactive, and tried to talk to anyone he met, to extract a little valuable information, or to make a comment; Hartman, on the other hand, is like an overly reserved young lady who is mostly silent, even though he knows a lot of insider information that everyone is interested in.

Morrison only knew that he had no authority to propose a change in the conditions, but Hartmann knew that the conditions could never be modified—he knew what his boss had done, and he knew part of his role in the intervention, so he could guess what he was going to do—of course, by no means accurate, if not even marginal, but one thing could never be wrong, there was a plan going on.

Plans, huge plans, complex plans, insidious plans...... The most critical point is Qin Lang's plan, so there must be many consortia involved, so the conditions must not be modified.

There is no room for bargaining.

Hartmann looked up slightly, and the Chinese Emperor was still talking cordially with Mr. Reporter, but the whole conversation had been led in a completely wrong direction by Morri, for his professional problems had returned. The arms salesman thought for a moment and felt the need for him to end this meaningless conversation.

But he couldn't tell the truth, and he didn't know the truth, so he had to use another way.

"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty the Emperor," Hartmann deftly interjected into the conversation between Guangxu and Morisun, "as far as I personally think, the demands made by our Government and the British Government are very reasonable and need not be revised. There is no doubt that your Emperor's throne is worth this price. ”

The interpreter wisely did not paraphrase the latter sentence, and Morrison looked at him in surprise. "Mr. Hartman, this is not your arms business."

"It's not an arms business, but it's still a business."

"God!" If it weren't for the presence of the Chinese emperor, the British would have cried out, "We are facing a serious political problem." ”

"It's also in line with economic principles." The Americans still insist on his assertion that "two railroads for an emperor's throne, a fair and reasonable deal." ”

For a moment, Morrison had an urge to strangle Hartmann to death: in the presence of the Chinese emperor, in a serious diplomatic setting, and he was an American envoy, he actually maintained his true colors as a businessman. It's just that, "two railways for an emperor's throne, a fair and reasonable deal", can such words be said in front of a majesty?

Worse still, he couldn't stop Mr. Hartmann from talking gibberish, and even worse, the Chinese emperor was already interested in his gibberish.

"What are they talking about?" Guangxu asked his translator.

The interpreter replied respectfully: "Back to the emperor, the two special envoys are discussing how to convey the emperor's request to the British government and the United States government. ”

Theoretically, this answer was unassailable: the emperor did not know either English or French, the two envoys did not seem to know Chinese, and the interpreter had the full initiative and could solve all possible problems. But unfortunately, neither the translator, nor Mr. Guangxu, nor Mr. Reporter, did not know that Hartman had a Chinese boss who encouraged his employees to learn foreign languages, and a Chinese partner, Wang Zhen, and he had been active in China for nearly three years, so in fact, he knew Chinese, and he could not only listen but also speak -- just the pronunciation was not standard, but Westerners were like that.

Mr. Hartman is now starting to play to his strengths. "No, Your Majesty the Emperor, what I have just said to Mr. Morrison is that it is a fair trade to exchange two railroads for the throne of an Emperor, and I do not think there is any need for bargaining."

Morrison was completely stunned.

The translator knelt down, regardless of repeating: "Slaves should die, slaves should die ......".

And Guangxu, he didn't hear what the interpreter was saying at all, he just looked at the Americans dumbfounded, the smile on his face froze little by little, and finally, it cracked, shattered, and fell all over the ground like glass.

If Easter. Hartman wanted to be remembered by others, and there is no doubt that he did. (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )