"The Emperor and the Queen Mother, and Li Bingheng, the Shandong Governor, started playing." Shi Duo held this fold and said: "Three days ago, in Zhangzhuang, Mopan, Juye County, Shandong, dozens of names and fists broke into Zhangzhuang Church at night and killed Xue Tianzi, a German priest in Zhangzhuang Church. Afterwards, the Boxers also set fire to the church and opened an altar there. Xu Tingrui, the magistrate of Juye County, personally led the officers and soldiers to live in front of the suppression, but the local people refused to accept the officers and soldiers, so they could only collect the corpses. The Yanzhou Catholic Church has been informed of the matter and is discussing with Wechen how to deal with it. In addition, it has been verified. All of this was caused by the German priest Xue Tianzi instigating the believers to oppress the common people, which aroused public indignation. Because this matter involves the murder of foreigners, Weichen did not dare to be arbitrary, so he specially submitted a request. ”

After speaking, Shiduo held the fold in his hand high. Li Lianying, who was on the side, took the fold and turned the curtain, and presented the fold to Lafayette Cixi. Even the meaning of presenting it to the emperor first was directly saved. Cixi behind the curtain flipped through the folds and did not speak. Li Lianying came out from behind the curtain and presented the fold.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?" Li Lianying saw that the emperor didn't take the fold, but just looked straight out of the door, and couldn't help but shout a few words in a low voice.

But Guangxu turned a deaf ear, and his mind was not here. Today is already the second day of the North Korea incident, and it is unbelievable that we have not received any news about the Korean incident from Western countries. The two sides of the Han River are now under heavy artillery fire, and the Japanese say that the Qing Dynasty has captured Japanese soldiers across the river and demand that they be returned immediately. The Qing army said that it was Japan that attacked the Qing army for no apparent reason. Northeast Asia has once again become the focus of world public opinion, and all countries are speculating about the reasons for the resumption of war between the Qing and Japanese countries, and the most mentioned about Seoul is that on May 15, many places in Seoul suddenly caught fire. Then the Japanese army blockaded Seoul. This sentence added countless conjectures to the rekindled war in the Qing Dynasty.

"Emperor—" The Queen Mother finally spoke behind the curtain. The Queen Mother's voice was not loud, but it was majestic. This made Guangxu, who was in the fugue space, immediately return to reality.

Guangxu, who had sobered up from the thunderous voice of the Queen Mother, opened his mouth and came: "Please make a decision from the Queen Mother." After speaking, I found that Li Lianying was still standing aside with a fold, and said dissatisfiedly: "What are you doing with this." Guangxu waved his hand. Then fold your arms around your chest and lean back on the dragon chair. Continue to look out the door and wander into space.

Regarding the emperor's actions, all the ministers shook their heads and sighed. The queen mother forwarded the folds to the emperor, and the intention was to let the emperor come to adjudicate the matter, but all matters involving foreigners were handled by the queen party. For the queen party, if the emperor does it, it will be the work of the queen mother's guidance, and if it is done, the emperor will naturally bear the blame. For the imperial party, the Qingliu faction is sighing. The once high-spirited emperor lost his enterprising spirit in just a few months. Now that the Queen Mother has taken the initiative to hand over government affairs to the emperor, the emperor should take over and regain power in the court through the foreigners' teaching plans. Now the emperor has taken such a good opportunity. was sent away with a gentle wave of his hand.

Weichen thought that this incident was caused by foreigners to instigate the believers to oppress the civilians first. I will tell the foreigners the truth and let them understand that the foreigners are at fault first. In this way, the matter will be easy to do. "Weng Tong is out of class. How could he not know that this must not be done in this way. He said a very inappropriate approach. I just hope that the emperor can come forward to oppose it, so that the emperor can clearly and honestly intervene in politics with this case and prepare for future possibilities.

But he was still wrong, Guangxu on the dragon chair didn't even realize to look at him. How did he know that Guangxu was thinking about why Russia hadn't sent troops yet. Guangxu has been painting with the Queen Mother for all these years, and he is no longer the little white he was at the beginning. Why is it necessary to use such a laborious and time-consuming method to regain power, and it may not be possible. The army is the guarantor of rights.

Weng Tongyi saw that the emperor ignored him, and he didn't know what to do for a while. The court suddenly fell silent.

"What does the emperor think?" The Queen Mother spoke.

"This matter is a matter of foreigners' lives. Erchen thought that it was better for the queen mother to decide. The sons and daughters will respect the will of the Queen Mother. "Between words. Guangxu didn't even move. The emperor who has abandoned etiquette has completely heated the contradictions between the emperor and the queen.

The mourning family thought that the matter would be decided by the emperor. What does the emperor think? ”

"I'll make a decision, that's easy. Sending silver to the Germans is not over. Three or five thousand taels can't seal their mouths, so thirty or fifty thousand taels is okay. It's not good to smash three or five hundred thousand taels at all. After speaking, Guangxu replied with a disdainful face: "What a big deal." ”

After a moment's pause, Cixi stood up violently. Cixi behind the curtain trembled and pointed at Guangxu: "The emperor is generous, if the court has to pay three or five hundred thousand taels of silver for every foreigner who dies, how many can the court pay?" ”

"Cut, I have a lot of resources in the Qing Dynasty, and the Empress Dowager of Cining Palace alone spends more than 40,000 taels of silver every day. It's just three or five hundred thousand taels of silver, but it's just a month's worth of Cining Palace. Can the imperial court still be short of this bit of silver? ”。 After speaking, Guangxu added: "What a big deal." ”

Cining Palace can't spend so much, and Cixi also knows who is up and down here. The comfort of oneself must also let the blessings of the following be unleashed, and such loyalty can be used. If you know, you know, but you can't say it to your face. Cixi couldn't even say anything. The courtiers did not dare to speak. Li Hongzhang, who had lost Cixi's trust and had lost his power, stood up. The discord between the emperor and the queen was already a big disaster, and now such a quarrel in front of the Manchu civil and military forces was the beginning of the country's chaos. On the one hand, it is the grace of the queen mother's promotion, and on the other hand, it is the virtue of the emperor's reuse. Li Hongzhang, who didn't say much in the court, still decided to stand up, and now the Qing Dynasty, which is under the eyes of the great powers, will fight again for the emperor and queen. then the country is in danger.

"The Emperor and the Queen Mother. Lao Chen has been handling foreign affairs for many years, and he is confident that he still has some ways to deal with foreigners. If the emperor and the queen mother believe in the old ministers, they will hand over the matter to the old ministers to handle it with full authority. ”

Cixi snorted heavily and agreed. Moreover, in order to calm down the incident, he also agreed to Li Hongzhang's proposal to compensate foreigners and rebuild the church. Li Hongzhang received the will of the Queen Mother, and when he was about to leave the palace, Guangxu came out with a sentence: "It turns out that the silver of the imperial court was deceived like this, no wonder the imperial court always said that there was no money." Li Hongzhang, does it cost 100,000 taels for a mistake? ”。

Li Hongzhang reacted as soon as he heard it, if it was a deliberate killing, it would be a diplomatic incident. But now, as long as the bite is a mistake, it is a mistake, and it is enough to pay some silver afterwards. Li Hongzhang, who was still thinking about how to explain to Germany, turned around and knelt down: "Weichen Xie Emperor for his guidance." Wechen will definitely be able to save money for the imperial court this time. ”

"That's not necessary. Since the Queen Mother promised 100,000 taels, how can it not be counted. If you can really save two silver taels, it should be the queen mother rewarding you. But say yes, in case you mess up your errand. This 100,000 taels is not enough, you have to pay it yourself. Guangxu said with a smile, he still has to win over Li Hongzhang.

"Weichen thinks that he doesn't have to pay for a tael of silver." Duanjun Wang Zaiyi was shocked by his words, and then said in the surprised eyes of the ministers: "As far as Weichen knows, what Yihequan said is 'Fuqing and Annihilation of the Ocean'. Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, the country has always been peaceful and peaceful, and since foreigners came from the west. I was bullied by foreigners in every way in the Qing Dynasty. Nowadays, there are righteous and boxers who have the heart to serve the court, and it is really a great good thing to help clear the Qing and destroy the foreign. This is the work of Lafayette to educate the world. Now the hearts of the people are available. As long as the imperial court has firm confidence, it will definitely be able to revive my prestige. So Weichen thought that not only did he not have to pay for one or two silvers. Instead, we should publicize this matter in a big way, so that the people of the world will know that our court is excited. In this way, what are the foreigners afraid of? ”

"It's true that as you said, the Qing Dynasty will die. Idiot. Guangxu was furious. The ministers were shocked by the words, and on the other hand, they were surprised why the emperor did not speak again. Why this assertion?

"The people's hearts towards the imperial court are the image of Zhongxing. Why did it become a sign of the country's demise in the emperor's mouth? The mourning family thought that what Zai Yi said was extremely true. Cixi stepped out from behind the curtain.

As for what kind of organization the Boxers are and what the consequences are, no one here can know better than Guangxu. Guangxu looked at Cixi differently: "A person who has been in charge of the government for decades can say such things." I really don't have anything to say. Retreat. ”

If you want to retreat, you can't retreat. A little eunuch ran fast with an excerpt in his hand, and kept shouting: "General Heilongjiang, Russian invasion." ”

In the early morning of May 16, the Russian ** team invaded the northeast region in a large way, and the border troops were unable to resist and retreated. General Heilongjiang was organizing troops to resist and asked the imperial court to immediately send reinforcements.

The Russians called. How is it good? Cixi panicked, and so did the ministers. Everyone couldn't help but look at Guangxu. Now the only thing that can be fought in the Northeast is the emperor's army. Unexpectedly, Guangxu said lightly: "What a big deal, retreat from the dynasty." ”

Don't look at Guangxu leisurely returned to Yingtai, but as soon as he entered Yingtai, he immediately arrived at the intelligence room. Guangxu, who had just entered the intelligence room, received another urgent telegram: After two days of fierce fighting, Heilongjiang was defeated. Yang Fengxiang, the deputy commander of Aihui and the yellow flag of the Han army, died in battle, and the Russian soldiers besieged Heilongjiang City. By the time the report was issued, the Russian troops had entered the city, and the fall of Heilongjiang City was imminent. Heilongjiang will fight to the death in the Russian army, vowing to live and die together in the city. It was only two days before he hit the city of Heilongjiang, and this is about to fall, and there is not a single soldier on the Heilongjiang side. Otherwise, it's too fake.

No, not at all. Russia went out with the most elite Cossack cavalry, and the Eight Banners, which had long been out of combat power, were not the same enemy, so Russia ran all the way to the city of Heilongjiang.

When the war began, other matters were naturally less important. However, someone had to take care of the affairs of the Germans, and after Li Hongzhang saw the German minister, he insisted that after several gangsters killed people, no one dared to storm the church, so he fled to the church for refuge. The people who didn't want to get excited rushed in to arrest the murderer, but the priest who didn't know what was going on came to stop him, and the ignorant people mistakenly thought that the priest was harboring the gangsters and was brutally killed. And the Boxers took the opportunity to make trouble, so much so that they set fire to the church. This was the fault of the Qing Dynasty, so the Qing Dynasty was willing to compensate for the funeral expenses and fund the reconstruction of the church. As for the troublemakers, the Boxer Qing Guo will suppress it. The Germans quickly accepted the explanation of the Qing State, and now the Germans, who have made a lot of profits in the Qing State, are not so aggressive, but they are a little dissatisfied with the compensation cost proposed by Li Hongzhang for a total of 10,000 taels, and they hope to raise it to 30,000 taels. To this end, the two sides are still in discussion.

Regarding the war in the Northeast, the next day the imperial court continued to argue for a day without coming to a result. Everyone hoped that the emperor would transfer the Royal Army Division stationed in the northeast to the front line to defend against the enemy. I didn't think that the emperor fell asleep in the court, and the telegram went back and forth all night last night, so he couldn't be sleepy. The Queen Mother woke up Guangxu who was sleeping soundly. What I didn't expect was that Guangxu stood up and rubbed his confused eyes and said, "Finished talking?" Then retreat. After speaking, he turned around and left, ignoring the trembling Empress Dowager Cixi Lafayette behind him.

The emperor can't count on it, so he can only count on himself. In the Cining Palace, when Cixi and her confidants were discussing countermeasures, even greater trouble came. As the battle on the Han River was unfavorable to the Qing army, the Korean troops were routed only two hours after Liu Shengxiu's artillery regiment withdrew, the Japanese broke through the Han River defense line, half of the Korean division was annihilated, and the vanguard of the Japanese 7th Division and the 1st Division was advancing northward.

If the DPRK is still far away, it will not be in a hurry for a while. But when Lushun was shelled by the Russian Far East Fleet, it was a real threat. The Qing Navy had just disobeyed the imperial court's orders to conduct long-distance training, and the Russians called, how could they be notified on this sea? Even if the notice arrives, it will take how many days to go back and forth. If the Russians turn around and go to Dagu, the matter will be a big problem. Therefore, Cixi ordered to strengthen the defense of the Dagu Fort while consulting with the secretaries.

"What does that staff headquarters in Jinzhou mean? In the name of the Qing royal army but not at the behest of the imperial court, what do they want? Cixi stared at Sedor.

Shi Duo is also very helpless, people are loyal to the emperor and not you Empress Dowager Cixi, what do you still ask me to do about this thing that everyone in the world knows. It's just that the Queen Mother has to reply when she asks: "Back to the Queen Mother, the General Staff Headquarters bit the regulations set by the emperor to death." Without the emperor's will, not a single soldier can be mobilized. They said that as soon as they received the emperor's decree, the General Staff Headquarters would immediately deploy troops. ”

"Then let the emperor decree, what are you waiting for?"

Shidor and the ministers all knelt on the ground, and did not even dare to raise their heads.

"It's all dumb, talking." Cixi roared: "I usually say that I am an important minister of the country, and even the land of my ancestor Longxing in the Qing Dynasty is also your prosperous place, but now I see that I am about to fall into the hands of foreign enemies, and this is how you serve the imperial court?" ”

"The queen mother is angry, it's not that the ministers are unwilling to ask the emperor, but that the ministers can't even see the emperor as long as they go to court." Shi Duo's whole body trembled in fright: "The royal guards stationed in Yingtai will not let the ministers go to the island." Please also ask the Queen Mother Lafayette to learn clearly. Shiduo spoke, and the ministers said yes.

"Empress Dowager Qi, Weichen has a bold remark, I don't know if to say it or not?" Rong Lu, the new Minister of Military Affairs of Beiyang, said a word.

"The Qing Dynasty has come to this, what else can't be said. Let's talk about it. ”

"It's better to call the Queen Mother tomorrow." Rong Lu's words made the other ministers not understand at once. Shidor approached him and asked him what he meant.

Only Cixi seemed to come back to her senses, let out a soft "oh", and then nodded. Before she could speak, Li Lianying pushed the door in regardless of etiquette, he hurriedly walked to the Queen Mother's side and did not speak, but handed over a newspaper.

Cixi looked at the place where Li Lianying was pointing, and slapped her palm on the table: "This is a rebellion." (To be continued......)