In the blink of an eye, it was January 1853, the assembly of the Mulan Enclosure had ended in early December last year, and Zhu Jishi, who had accepted the tribute of Jiubai and the title of Tengri Khan, had returned to the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. At this time, the Lunar New Year is approaching, and the city of Beijing, which has been depressed for several years, finally has some prosperity again. Because Zhu Jishi, the son of the Great Tomorrow, was preparing to celebrate the New Year in Beijing, in addition to a small number of officials who stayed in Nanjing Yingtianfu, most of the high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty would also celebrate the festival in Beijing, and they would live in the inner city of Beijing with their servant families, which immediately made this ghost city popular and joyful. Not only are the nobles of the new dynasty beaming with joy, but even the ordinary people in the outer city are also full of joy.

What made them happy was not only the prosperity of the market brought by the imperial court stationed in Beijing, but also the good news that the world was about to be peaceful. At the same time that the Western Qing Dynasty "please surrender" Qi Liaozao was brought back to Beijing by Emperor Zhu from the Mulan paddock. Feng Yunshan, the southern king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, also entered Beijing in a large sedan chair with a 36-person platform. It is said that he came to negotiate with the imperial court about annexation.

There is also news from the Lama Temple in Zhangjiahu Tuketu, saying that the monk Grinqin who is entrenched in Tibet has accepted the title of Tibetan king, and has also sent the D Lai Lama to the Central Plains, and now the lama is on his way north, and he can go to Beijing after the Spring Festival. At this time, the Western Qing Dynasty, Tibet, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were all pacified. Moreover, the Ming Emperor also led the Great Khan of Mongolia, and the millions of Mongolians outside the Great Wall all respected the Great Tomorrow.

Now there is only one Yixin who is entrenched in Outer Mongolia, and the whole thing is a clown who jumps off the beam, and no one believes that he can jump for a few days!

In such a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere in the world, the people in Beijing can finally spend the New Year with peace of mind. In this day and age. Before the New Year. It's the busiest time. Beijing is no exception. The temple fairs everywhere have already opened, and it will not be until the Lantern Festival is lit up to celebrate the New Year.

However, Qi Liaozao, the minister of military aircraft and a scholar of the Western Qing Dynasty who was stranded in Beijing, did not feel the festive atmosphere at all. At this time, he also changed into a Ming Dynasty Confucian robe, with sleeves cuffed, and his face gloomy squeezed through the flow of people in the West Fourth Archway.

This Beijing city is the birthplace of Qi Liaozao, who was born in the 58th year of Qianlong in the Tiemen official residence outside the Xuanwu Gate, and lived in Beijing until the age of 11. His father, Qi Yunshi, was a compiler of the National History Museum. It was handed down to the world as "The Biography of the Mongolian Hui Prince". At the age of twenty-two, Qi Liaozao won the Jinshi in the year of the weak crown, and for more than 30 years, most of the time he was also an official in Beijing, which is almost half of Qi Liaozao's hometown.

But when he came back after four years, he walked for a long time in the area of the West Fourth Archway in Beijing, which he was most familiar with, but he did not meet an acquaintance. In the past, the relatives of the Eight Banners and the important ministers of the imperial court who were good with him are either in the soil or far away in Mobei and Hexi, and it seems that they will not be able to return to Beijing in this life. Unless as a captive!

"Master, there are a few people who have been following us." A servant who accompanied Qi Liaozao out suddenly leaned into his ear and whispered.

"That's Jinyiwei. Emperor Zhu's minions! Qi Liaozao came to a conclusion without looking at it, his identity was there, and it would not be normal if there was no spy from Jinyiwei.

"No, it's not Jinyiwei, it's Lord Lin."

"Lord Lin? Which one? ”

"Lord Lin Mu Wenglin."

"It's him!" Qi Liaozao looked back, and sure enough, he saw Lin Zexu also standing at the door of the casserole house not far away, accompanied by several family members, and waved to his side. Seeing Qi Liaozao turn around, Lin Zexu turned around and entered the casserole house.

"Listen to what he has to say!" Qi Liaozao muttered, and followed into the casserole house.

Casserole House is a very famous time-honored brand in Beijing, which was opened in the Qianlong period. encountered the Taiping Rebellion, the bosses and guys here have all changed, and a guy with a Cantonese accent greeted him and said politely: "Is it Boss Qi?" Seeing Qi Liaozao nodded, he said, "Boss Lin is waiting for you in the chrysanthemum seat on the second floor." ”

Qi Liaozao smiled bitterly and went up to the second floor, and as soon as he entered the chrysanthemum private room, he saw Lin Zexu sitting there with a smile on his face, and there were a few Cantonese snacks in front of him - this casserole house now seems to have been transformed into a Cantonese tea restaurant.

Seeing Qi Liaozao coming in, he stood up and beckoned: "Xi Weng, sit down!" I haven't seen you for a few years, but I want my brother to die, but I didn't expect to meet it in Beijing. He greeted warmly. Qi Liaozao just wanted to sneer in his heart. But in the Ming Dynasty, the one who can say a few words to himself now is Lin Zexu, the world-famous leader of the Qingliu.

He sat down opposite Lin Zexu with a cold face, and quietly watched the other party pour himself a bowl of tea. Lin Zexu said with a smile: "This casserole house is also a thing, it turns out that the white meat of the casserole can't be eaten, but the current Cantonese dim sum is very good." ”

"But I still think the white meat in the casserole is delicious." Qi Liaozao said lightly.

"I don't have to eat if it's delicious, Xi Weng, my generation is old, and if I don't eat it, I don't have anything, but my descendants are still young."

"There is no white meat in Beijing, but there is still one in Xining."

Lin Zexu took a sip of the tea bowl, frowned and smiled: "Today's Xining, the cloud of the past." Now he is a descendant of the Yongli Emperor Miao, how can he forget the deep hatred and hatred of the past 200 years? He said and laughed, not caring that Qi Liaozao's face was blue and white for a while.

Qi Liaozao snorted coldly: "Such a faithless and unrighteous person is also worthy of being the king of China?" ”

Lin Zexu changed his solemn face, looked at Qi Liaozao and said seriously: "Xi Weng, now I hear the rumors, it seems that the Russian Empire is going to send troops to destroy the Turkish Empire!" And the Turkish Empire is an ally of the British Empire and the French Republic (in fact, it is already an empire), and it is also blocking the Russian Empire's southward rush to India, so it is very likely that England and France will fight with Russia! Now England and France are so good with us, just so that once we fight, we can stab Russia in the back. And Russia's support for the Western Qing Dynasty and Mongolia is to use them to delay the Ming Dynasty's offensive, that is, to use the last bit of Manchurian blood as cannon fodder! He said very seriously, there is no doubt that he came to meet with Qi Liaozao today to tell him the news.

Qi Liaozao's heart sank. He, the minister of military aircraft and a scholar of the Xining side, knew nothing about these things. Although he also knew that Russia's support for the Western Qing Dynasty did not mean to make a loss-making deal, he only thought about the territory, thinking that Russia's purpose was only Xinjiang...... But if what Lin Zexu said is true, then Xiqing has no hope at all! Once Russia starts a war with Britain and France in the west, no matter what the situation is, there will not be much strength to reinforce the Western Qing, and then the Western Qing will have to fight against the Ming Dynasty independently!

"Shao Mu, are you telling the truth?"

Qi Liaozao stared at Lin Zexu tightly, as if he wanted to get a definite answer from his face. Lin Zexu smiled and said, "If it's true or not, don't ask me, you won't believe what I said." You go to Tianjin, where there is the Consulate General of the United Kingdom, and you can ask the Consul General of Ali Guo to find out. ”

Qi Liaozao groaned in his heart for a long time, Lin Zexu's words are likely to be true! But why did he say this to himself? Is it unbearable to watch the remnants of the Qing Dynasty being buried as Russian cannon fodder? Or do you want to drive a wedge between the Qing Dynasty and the Russian Empire?

Lin Zexu saw that his face was still suspicious, and said with a smile: "Xi Weng, although I am now a courtier of the Ming Dynasty, I have also been a Qing official, and I can't say that I have any attachment to the old master, but I don't want to see them become cannon fodder for other countries." If Russia sincerely supports the restoration of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, even if it wants to cut Xinjiang, Outer Mongolia, and Manchuria, Xianfeng still has the hope of becoming an emperor. But this is not the case at all at the moment, and Russia clearly wants to use Xianfeng and Manchu as victims to delay time. If you fight to wipe out the clan, you will get nothing, so why bother? ”

Qi Liaozao frowned: "Shao Mu wants me to enter the court?" ”

Lin Zexu waved his hand: "Xianfeng refuses, I just want you to persuade Xianfeng, don't do it knowing that you can't do it...... And there are many roads in the world, and it is not just a dead end for the Russians to be cannon fodder. If Xianfeng wants to keep his descendants rich, he can bring more gold and silver to India to exile, and with the protection of the British, what else is there to worry about? He accentuated his tone, "If you don't give up, don't forget to save your strength!" As long as the strength is in hand, you can still learn from Yelu Dashi as a last resort. (To be continued......)