"Our troops have reached the outskirts of Beijing. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info”

If it had been someone else, he would have been mercilessly ridiculed by diplomats and Morrison – even if it was the news they needed. But the person who brought the news was Ben. Colonel Strauz, Sir MacDonald's deputy commander of the embassy guards, so everyone in the restaurant had to do everything in their power to believe that they would soon be out of the woods.

It's a bit difficult. For any unlucky guy who has been looking forward to it for a long time, it's hard to accept when what they want actually happens.

There was silence in the room, and no one stood up to cheer, for no one had come back to their senses yet. It wasn't until about three minutes later that Morrison was the first to return to normal, asking, "Where did you get the news?" ”

"Sir Hurd"—the Colonel's ears pricked up at the mention of his name—"it was he who brought the news from an old trumpeter of the band, who had fled into the embassy quarter twenty minutes earlier. ”

"Can he be trusted?" French Minister Bi Sheng asked eagerly. If that's true, of course, this one has been muttering "Nous.sommes.perdus!" all day long. [2] So much so that the big man whom Morrison called "a bastard who fears death," "the laughing stock of the whole embassy district," and a "hateful coward," would passionately kiss every lady around him to celebrate his survival of the crisis.

He would do that, even if the ladies weren't going to get up close and personal with him.

Bissen waited for Strawz's answer, but before the Colonel could speak, Hurd preemptively proved to his old trumpeter: "Every member of my band can be trusted. ”

The Colonel nodded, agreeing with the Lord's statement, and continued, "I have just returned from the line of fire, and the soldiers of Shibagoro Osaku have noticed that the Chinese army confronted them is in disarray, and some officers have gathered their soldiers and brought them to the palace. ”

"That is......" the diplomats all stood up, "help has finally arrived!" ”

Immediately, the enthusiastic cheers echoed in the restaurant, and Mr. Bi Sheng also took advantage of this time to kiss Polly next to him as he wished. Miss Smith. Then, at Sir MacDonald's suggestion, the people took their glasses, poured champagne and toasted together to the day of celebration.

"Thank God, Her Majesty the Queen, and, of course, Vice Admiral Seymour and the valiant coalition soldiers." Morrison put down his wine glass, and then casually asked Colonel Strauz a question, "Does that old trumpeter know which country's army was the first coalition force to arrive on the outskirts of Beijing?" ”

"There is no doubt that the first to arrive in the city must have been the brave, strong and glorious German Army. Long live His Majesty Kaiser Wilhelm! Heinrich Brown, the interpreter of the German Embassy who attended the dinner on behalf of the deceased Baron Klinde, was Heinrich Brown. Cordes[note 3] proudly declared. At this moment, he had already thrown the shameful game of German advisers versus American advisers to the back of his mind.

The colonel shook his head secretly and said, "It's the American army." ”

"U.S. Army!" Everyone but Conger, even the other Americans in the room, was shocked by this answer. The Japanese minister, Baron Nishitokujiro, even choked on his champagne and coughed violently, fearing that he was going to choke to death with a glass of wine at this time.

"Just the American Army?" Cordes asked unwillingly.

"Just the American military. It is said that the rest of the coalition forces were blocked in Tianjin by General Nie Shicheng...... And the German Army has not yet arrived. There is no doubt that by the time the last sentence was uttered, Strawz's expression had become rather awkward – and so was Curdes, of course. But Conger couldn't help but cheer. "I said a long time ago," he said triumphantly, "Qin Lang will definitely rescue us." ”

No one questioned him why, before he had even met the commander of the American army, he could claim with such certainty that the man was the brigadier general of the American Army. This is no longer a matter of concern, and the mere fact that American troops can reach the outskirts of Beijing while the rest of the coalition forces are held back a little bit in Tianjin is enough to drain the diplomats with all their energy.

And the British journalists.

Morrison muttered in a low voice: "A Chinese general rescued us from the trap of the Chinese, my God, what could be more funny than that?" ”

However, what does it matter to the wives of diplomats, as well as other ladies in the restaurant? The important thing is that they are safe, free to enjoy the sun, not afraid of being hit by flying bullets, and not having to stay up all night in the heat of firefighting.

It doesn't get much better than that.

The ladies began to celebrate the good news of Colonel Strauz in a more enthusiastic way. Led by them, the diplomats were quickly relieved from their respective troubles, put on professional smiles, raised their glasses, and joined in today's festivities.

But at the same time, the city of Beijing was already in chaos. Since Qing government officials did nothing – and indeed they were unable to do – to conceal the arrival of the coalition forces on the outskirts of Beijing, every slightly well-informed resident knew that the seemingly impregnable city they lived in was in fact under organized assault and that it was only a matter of time before it fell.

At such times, the tide of fleeing inevitably arises – albeit only a small number of people, mostly wealthy merchants. The common people living at the bottom usually didn't care about the fighting, and the Boxers still controlled a number of areas, agitating or threatening every man they met, asking them to take up arms to help defend the city.

Of course, the nobles, officials, and Qing troops were still holding their posts, because no one had dared to abandon their empress dowager and emperor, even though their empress dowager and emperor were preparing to throw them aside and flee...... Or, according to the official version, away from Kyo Sai Hunt.

The start of the apparently ill-timed Royal Safari was so much earlier than originally planned that much of the preparation that needed to be made was still not ready. As the person in charge of all activities, Li Lianying inevitably became worried, afraid that his queen mother would be angry because of this.

However, Cixi was not angry at all, and was so calm that it was impossible to guess what was going on in her mind. Now, the supreme ruler of China had changed into a peasant woman's clothes and now just sat quietly, watching the eunuchs and maids running around in front of her, doing their best to pack her things. After a while, she shifted her gaze to the young emperor, who had also changed into a civilian outfit, and stared at him for a moment, then remembered a few others.

"Where's Big Brother?" She asked sternly.

Big brother, of course, loves Xin Jueluo. Zai Yan had no heirs, and the lucky one who got this title was another member of the royal family, Pu Jun, the son of the ambitious Duanjun King Zaiyi. Even though his father was already hated by her, and even though he was unanimously boycotted by Western countries, Cixi decided to take the boy with him, who was only fourteen years old. Before Western countries officially demand that he be deposed, Pu Jun still has a chance to replace the young emperor as her next puppet.

She was going to take him away and take him to safety.

"Where's Big Brother?" Cixi asked again. The voice became harsher.

This time, her reproach was answered. Another eunuch she trusted, the second chief Cui Yugui, rushed over and quickly replied, "The eldest brother is changing clothes, and he will come over in a while." ”

"What's going on? Why is the action so slow! Cixi suddenly arrived and was so distraught that she even wanted to rush to Pu Jun herself to make sure that the eunuchs were as fast as she wanted them to be. However, she could not go there, she could only sit here, and she could only use verbal threats to urge the minions. "Bring Big Brother here immediately! Whoever loses time, is executed immediately. ”

"Yes." Cui Yugui hurriedly replied, and then wanted to retreat to convey this will - but before he could make any moves, Cixi called his name again and asked, "Where is Concubine Zhen?" ”

"I'm also changing clothes."

"Tell her she doesn't need to change it." Cixi looked at the young emperor out of the corner of her eye, watching his reaction, and sneering inwardly. "For the sake of the emperor's honor, please throw herself into the well immediately."

As she expected, the Emperor's body trembled violently, and the gaze that looked at her was filled with anger and pleading, satisfying her. However, Guangxu's attitude did not change anything – especially Cixi's decision. "Do it right away." Cixi urged, "If Concubine Zhen is afraid, find a few people to help her." ”

"Yes."

As he withdrew, Cui Yugui glanced worriedly at the young emperor, whose face was pale, not sure what the outcome of what he was doing would bring.

But he had no choice, just like the Qing army guarding the Dongbian Gate. When dozens of fierce-looking "refugees" pointed their guns at them, they could only hand over their weapons and open the city gates, ready to welcome a hostile army, as instructed by these men.

"We always have a way to solve the problem, don't we, Major?" Qin Lang smiled and said to his chief of staff, "It's not as difficult as you think to enter Beijing. ”

"Yes, boss." That's all Shepard could answer.

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Note: In history, the present. Strauz was killed by Qing troops on 16 July

Note 2: In French, it means "we are finished"

Note 3: It stands to reason that an interpreter is not qualified to attend a diplomat's banquet, but the names of the rest of the German embassy cannot be found—and the minister, Klinder, is dead (to be continued.) )