Cixi's convoy, because it was well prepared in advance, had no accidents when it was time to leave. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 The info army has both the pioneer army, the escort army, and the palace army, and the front and rear teams are very neat. Although the flag was not raised, the fact that so many troops accompanied it was very conspicuous in itself.

When they got out of the capital, Duanwang and others dared to play the banner of the queen mother, and with the name, there were routs of the Tiger God Battalion, the rear army, and the left army on the road to join one after another, and the scale of the army gradually became larger. Then came the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs, and after learning where the Queen Mother was, more and more ministers came with their families to protect them.

Supporting the old and the young, driving the cart, pulling their belongings and female dependents, I really can't see what ability they have to protect them. Cixi knew it in his heart, but he was just thinking that he had soldiers on his side and could keep him safe. It is difficult to say who will protect whom. But this is the hearts of the people, these people come to vote, indicating that they still support themselves as the queen mother, and they must definitely be treated preferentially and cannot be expelled, so they all issued orders to encourage. As a result, there are more and more defectors, and the team is snowballing.

With the two palaces as the core, and the armed forces composed of troops, family members, and courtyards, there are more than 6,000 combat soldiers alone. With the addition of civil and military officials and their families, this number will be further increased. While such a huge manpower has given people a sense of psychological security, another imminent problem has also been exposed: the supply of food and water has become difficult.

Cixi went out of the palace and took out most of the treasures in the palace, which had been escorted by Han Rong to Baoding and stored secretly. In her convoy, she brought a large number of treasures, valuable calligraphy and paintings, antiques, and even some gold and silver. These things are priceless, needless to say, maybe take out one of them, and they can shake the antique world. But the problem is that they have calculated everything, but no one has calculated to bring food.

The foreigners came from the direction of Jinmen, and the yamen on the westward road was not affected by the soldiers, and the foreign soldiers did not capture those places, and the yamen was still operating. When the holy car arrived, the emperor was an unshirkable obligation, and it was not difficult to support food and rice, because she didn't care about it at the beginning. But when the procession gradually entered the evening, the eunuch reported several very bad news one after another.

First of all, because of the raging Flying Tiger Regiment and the news of the imminent retaliation of foreign soldiers, the people along the way fled on a large scale. In the grass on the side of the road, you can always see a lot of white bones, which makes people shudder.

Secondly, on the part of the government, the officials of the prefecture and county actually left with the seal, and there was no trace. With the dignity of the two palaces, he couldn't see a single person, and he couldn't find an official to take over. It was only at this point that Cixi knew that the situation was not as under control as she imagined, and the whole situation was already a little out of control.

Officials are not willing to pay for it, and it is also justified. Since the Flying Tiger Regiment flourished, the hinterland of Gyeonggi was rampant with bandits, and the merchants had a difficult life, so they had to go away. Or cross the Yangtze River, or go to Shandong, the market is depressed, the people's livelihood is withering, the people are poor, and the normal local support is already very difficult.

As soon as the holy car arrives, the two palaces must prepare the full seat of the banner and the Han, the princes and ministers must prepare a pot, and thousands of people and horses must run military food and horses, and once calculated, it is tens of thousands of taels of expenses.

If it is in a peaceful year, the magistrates are happy to run the emperor's errands, spending 10,000 yuan can repay 30,000 yuan, apportioning the locality, or withholding taxes and fees, which are all great benefits.

However, in this year, the gentry have no money in their hands, and they cannot continue to distribute donations, so they cannot afford such a difference. One was not well prepared, the light one lost his office, and the heavy one died, and after thinking about it, he had to take the big seal into King Jingqin. It is better to wait until the holy driver leaves the station and then returns to his post than to be unable to accept.

Of course, the fact that they were able to get the news accurately was not unrelated to the fact that someone had specially notified them in advance. But no matter what, in short, these people got the information, and then left in time, and the emperor couldn't send it.

This change is too unexpected, no one is on the emperor's errand, there is no banquet preparation, and the diet of these people is a big problem. Those defeated soldiers all carried silver, but they did not bring dry food, only the right army of Wuwei had dry food bags and water bottles on their bodies, if the army rations were levied, it would not make the two palaces starving. But Cixi knows that at this time, the most important thing is to be sympathetic and appease the three armies, otherwise the mutiny will be a lifetime and the consequences will be unimaginable.

As long as he opens the mouth to eat the soldiers' dry rations, the princes and ministers below must intensify their efforts to ask the soldiers for rations. In this way, the army's heart is shaken, the hatred of life, and the disaster of Ma Wei is just around the corner. She specially made an order that no one should ask for food rations from soldiers, and that she would take the lead in starving, and that she would not take food from soldiers, and that those who violated it would be beheaded immediately.

After a while, the morale of the right army stabilized, but when it was time to camp at night, the Qinwang army, which came to protect it, ran away with hundreds of people. These unfettered rebels marched overnight, taking advantage of the fact that the holy car had not arrived, found the villages and county towns where the people had not run out, and looted and killed, seizing grain and silver. Brutally loot everything they can get their hands on, and then flee. This pioneer is in front, and it has become a dream for the Holy Driver to find someone to provide food.

In addition to food, what is even worse is that there is no water, in the past, in the palace, fragrant tea and wine, are ordinary things. But now, wanting to drink a sip of water has become a luxury.

In the wells along the way, you can basically see the corpses of naked women, how can you drink? When I left the palace, I regretted not bringing out Taixi Champagne and Kweichow Moutai, otherwise I could barely quench my thirst. At this time, there was no way to be really thirsty, so the eunuch could only pick some straw and put it in his mouth to chew it, so as to solve the urgent need with juice.

When Cixi originally left the palace, he was still kind and pleasant, talking and laughing, just like an autumn hike, showing that everything is under control of the style and stability of people's hearts. But at this time, he began to cry. When we arrived in Yanqing Prefecture, the situation was extremely miserable.

In a state city, not a single living person can see it, as if it has entered a ghost domain. Empty streets, burned houses, the smell of burnt air comes from the air. The men and horses of the right army searched carefully, and they could only see some dead bodies, mainly the elderly, women and children. I think most of them have been sacked by the remnants of the army, and those who have never left have been poisoned. Not only was there no food or water, but even the bed boards could not be found.

Cixi and Emperor Tianyou, the two only went to a long bench, the mother leaned back to back and took a nap, Yanqing in autumn, the second half of the night was somewhat cold, fortunately, when I went out of the palace, I brought warm clothes, and at this time, I took it and wrapped it on my body, but I could resist the cool breeze.

But the cool breeze outside can be stopped, but the chill in the heart can't be stopped. There was silence, silence outside, Cixi coughed a few times, and God blessed Emperor Dun with a feeling.

"Dear Dad, are you coughing again? The son asked the doctor to take a look? ”

"Don't bother, it's useless, I'm just uncomfortable with a dry throat, it's okay...... Wait until you find the saliva...... That's it. Cixi coughed again, and suddenly said, "Emperor, are you hating me in your heart?" Hate me that I shouldn't have started a war against foreigners, and I shouldn't have let Cui Yugui push Concubine Zhen into the rouge well. ”

Emperor Tianyou was shocked, "Dear father, how dare my son hate you?" You...... If you say this, the son will have to die once to prove his heart. ”

"Don't be afraid, we two mothers, now that you have fallen into this step, even if you hate me, I don't blame you. …… Ahem...... I won't say much about the war, let's let people calculate. Whoever sees the telegram can only fight with the foreigners. Don't say it, I know that you feel sorry for Concubine Zhen, and that child does hurt people. But...... But I ordered her to be executed, and I also had my own troubles. I don't have a good temperament, I know it. Your temperament is also very strong, you are getting older and older, and it is inevitable that you will raise the bar and quarrel in the future, so I thought, find you a good-tempered daughter-in-law, so that we can bridge the gap between our mother. ”

Speaking of this, Cixi coughed again, and Emperor Tianyou said: "Dear father, your son understands that you should take care of your body first." ”

"No, we don't have many times to talk like this. When there are many people, some words are difficult to say, and when they are piled up in the heart, they become diseases. The queen I picked for you, you don't like it, I know. But you are the emperor, and marrying a daughter-in-law is a matter related to the society of the country, and you can't do it by your liking. Although the queen's appearance is not good, but her temper is okay, she is my niece, and I are both flesh and blood relatives and mother-in-law, and your cousin, marry her, if there is anything you are inconvenient to say, she can help you say, as long as you can get along with her well, our country will be peaceful. ”

Cixi coughed again for a while, and then said after a while: "I know, you like the pair of sisters in the Dexin family, those two are indeed beautiful, and everyone likes them." But they rode horses to write poems, and they also sang on stage. The reputation in her hometown is not good, she is not a woman who lives a stable life, and she can't be a mother in the world. Marrying a wife and marrying virtue, taking concubines and taking concubines, this is a truth that everyone understands, especially in the emperor's house. I prepared two pairs of purses that day, one is ruyi, and I still don't understand the meaning? All five remained. Your cousin has a stable temperament and can be the queen, and the sisters of the De family are good-looking, and they can be concubines, not both? But you gave Ruyi to the eldest daughter of the De family first, and I knew it was bad. If it is by your temperament, the country will not be peaceful, let them be concubines, the concubines will be out of harmony, your palace will be unstable, there is no way, so you have to put them on the brand. ”

Listening to Cixi talk about the past, Emperor Tianyou had to admit that he also had a recklessness that day. After all, now that I think about it, it is inevitable to set up my cousin as the queen. Why didn't he learn from Emperor Yi, his aunt and nephew were together, and they flew together, and as a result, they pushed out a pair of fairy-like people.

Even later love Concubine Zhen, in fact, it is also because the sisters of the De family are not there, retreat to the second, if you talk about the appearance of talent, Concubine Zhen is far inferior to the sisters of the De family, can only be regarded as no cinnabar, red clay is precious.

"I know, you don't like the queen, and I don't want to force you to like her anymore, so I didn't take her with me when I went out of Beijing this time, so as not to upset you when you look at it. At this time, I also figured it out, as long as you are happy, let him do the rest. In the future, as long as you are happy and want to do whatever you want, do whatever you want. ”

"Dear father, son...... The son ......, "Tianyou doesn't know what to say, if you say thank you, you will be too mean to the queen, but Cixi's words make him grateful."

Cixi said: "Concubine Zhen's temperament is not good, there is no one in her eyes, not even me, let alone the queen." Relying on your favor in the palace, not only dare to sell officials, but also dare to compete with the queen, this is not the way of a concubine. If I don't take her away when I go out of Beijing, she will not be compatible with the queen in the palace, and she will also suffer. I'm an elder anyway, and I can only be a villain for my juniors. If you take her with you...... How could her temperament not be troublesome? It's either that the hospitality is not good, or that the road is hard, I'm afraid I want you to go back to Beijing to negotiate with the foreigners. These words may not be wrong, but to pick the right occasion, the most confused thing about her is that she doesn't know where to speak. At this time, if she is willful, this country will not be able to be saved. So, I can only ...... My heart is also very bitter, at this age, fasting and reciting Buddha, how can I bear to kill, but what can I do? When the two of us meet in the future, tell her about my troubles, and if you hate me for this, I don't blame you. ”

After saying this, Emperor Tianyou vaguely heard a few choked sounds, this strong old woman actually cried?

Listening to her cry, no matter how much fire Emperor Tianyou has, he can't send it out, after all, the current etiquette is that only the children who are at fault have no parents who are at fault. Even if Cixi gave Concubine Zhen to death without guilt, as a son, he could not blame his mother with his son, but could only comfort him, "Dear father, my son understands your hard work, and he has never blamed you." ”

Cixi cried for a while, "Concubine Jin and her are sisters, although they are not as good as her, but their temperament is better than that of Concubine Zhen, if you like your sister, you should cherish her sister more." When this turmoil passes, let's live a peaceful life for a few years, I will choose a show girl for you again, this time, I only let you choose by yourself, I don't care about anything. But with so many of us under our banner, I don't believe it, and I can't pick out a girl who can be your heart. ”

Although Emperor Tianyou is in the prime of life, due to physical reasons, the love between men and women has been very light, and he is not enthusiastic about choosing show girls. But the queen mother even has to give up the power to pick a show girl, which clearly means that she will return the government to herself, and since she has to pick a show girl, she will not think of Yi Jun, and the eldest brother who always covets his throne must be expelled. This news is extremely good for him, and Emperor Tianyou is in a mood, "Dear father...... Son...... Thank you for your grace. ”

"I know, you're a good boy. But you have your faults, your ears are soft-hearted, and you are easy to be fooled. Now that our mother has two hearts, our Dajin country can still be maintained, if the two of us are distracted, this country will be overturned, and it will be in front of us. After this accident, you should also understand some truth, my body and bones are not as good as before, and when you pass this level, it should be yours, and you have to pay it back. But right now, I still have to maintain it, whatever the foreigners want, they come to the old woman, even if they want this old life, I will give it to them! ”

"Dear father, if a foreigner has an unreasonable request, my son will bear it with all his might, and I can't let your old man be harmed."

A smile appeared on Cixi's face, his midnight training had achieved his goal, but the two of them had their backs against each other, and the emperor naturally couldn't see the queen mother's expression.

Cixi said: "I remember that when you entered the palace, you were the least courageous, and when you heard the thunder, you cried in fright, so I rushed over and hugged you to sleep." Now, it seems to be back in time, Ren is wind, rain and thunder, and I am here, you, don't be afraid. ”

There was silence, and faintly, only sobs were heard, but the emperor, who was full of feelings and easily fooled, was moved to cry bitterly. The estrangement caused by the execution of Concubine Zhen was eliminated in these words, and the heart of mercy was completely let go. With the emperor in the way, no matter how difficult it is to negotiate peace in the future, he will not be punished as the culprit.

The next day, there were still no people, food and water were still gone, the princes and ministers of the group were dry and anxious, their eyes were black, and some people were already thinking about killing animals and eating meat. Li Lianying saw that Cixi was coughing more and more fiercely, and she was also worried in her heart, after all, she was such an old woman, and she had a loss of food and water, how could it last for a long time?

Princess Rongshou was also anxious, and she didn't dare to ask the troops, so she had to ask the eunuch, "What's in front?" Can you take a break? ”

"Yulinburg. However, it will not be able to arrive in the evening, and if there is no one to pick up the errand in Yulinbao, I am afraid it will be difficult. ”

Princess Rongshou's tears almost flowed out, if there is no one in Yulin Fort to take over the imperial mission, I am afraid that there is only one way left: killing livestock. But once this animal is killed, when will it be able to get to Shaanxi?

The red sun went west, the remnant sun shone obliquely, and the team finally arrived at Yulin Fort, and an officer and soldier who opened the way rushed back on a flying horse, and said in a loud voice: "Zhao Guanhou Zhao, Lord Zhao, wait for the car in Yulin Fort!" (To be continued.) )