At least in the last decade, the Qing political axe also actively held new policies throughout the country and established various new schools, laying the foundation for the later Republic of China political axe, which was full of talents.

At the time of the Xinhai Revolution, the Qing Zheng Axe also sent the only heavy cruiser to demonstrate on the west coast of Mexico to force the Mexican political axe to apologize for the anti-Chinese incident.

During the Russo-Russian War, it was wise for the Qing government to choose to be neutral.

After Song Biao accumulated strong military strength and had the conditions to mediate with Russia, it was also wise for Qing Zhengaxe to be forced to appoint him as the governor of the three eastern provinces, which did not mean that Qing Zhengaxe would hand over all the rights to Song Biao, on the contrary, Qing Zhengax not only appointed him as the governor of the three eastern provinces, but also controlled all the military and political power of the three eastern provinces by retaining the three garrison generals of Fengtian, Jilin and Heilongjiang, because the garrison generals of the three provinces and the governors of the three eastern provinces happened to completely overlap in jurisdiction.

The Fengtian New Army demonstration incident was essentially caused by the seemingly shrewd arrangement of the Qing political axe, and the initiator was the Empress Dowager Cixi, who had long been accustomed to using this trick to control hundreds of officials, but she didn't expect Song Biao and Zhao Erxun's reactions to be so fierce, completely putting on a posture of a death match.

Yuan Jinkai's two tricks quickly took effect, and after Song Biao put on a tough posture that he wanted to compete with Zhao Erxun for the real power of the governor of the three eastern provinces in order to implement the new policy, the number of officials who attacked Song Biao decreased somewhat, and some officials even demanded that Zhao Erxun be strictly investigated.

In the midst of this fierce battle, on the afternoon of December 3, 1905, Cixi summoned Yin Chang at Ningshou Palace, and the reason why she wanted to summon Yin Chang was precisely because Yin Chang was one of the very few officials who harshly criticized Zhao Erxun.

Strictly speaking, Yin Chang is not even an official, he is just a quasi-official, as the general manager of the Tianjin Wubei Academy, he also has the official title of Zheng Sanpin.

Ningshou Palace is behind the Huangji Palace, since the Gengzi New Deal, the Empress Dowager Cixi has always lived here to run the New Deal, to her liking, the governors and governors of various places are also non-stop to supervise the New Deal, but the result of a group of old people to do the New Deal is nothing more than the surface of the glory, the inside is all defeated, all over the country skillfully take advantage of the New Deal to take advantage of the forcible seizure, cleverly set up various names to levy taxes indiscriminately, the people are miserable, such as the most lively Sichuan in the New Deal, in previous years, the land tax was only one or two silver, but after 1902 it increased to 6 to 8 taels, Some places, such as Hezhou, even surged to 14.3 taels.

In the end, the so-called Manchu Xiliang, who was called a famous minister of Gengzi's New Deal, was actually the ultimate founder of the Sichuan Railway Riot.

At this time, the Empress Dowager Cixi obviously failed to notice all this, what she saw was that the Gengzi New Deal was thriving in various places, and the whole country was new, except for the three eastern provinces and the Guangxu Emperor, she didn't seem to have too many worries.

Although Yin Chang had seen Cixi, he was still terrified in his heart, and he was always worried that his previous excerpt of supporting Song Biao would become a crime, so he entered the main hall of Ningshou Palace accompanied by the second chief eunuch Cui Yugui.

Entering the main hall, Yin Chang just saw an old woman wearing a dark green cheongsam on the bench in front of him, so he couldn't wait to kneel down far away, and said: "Slave Tianjin Wubei Academy General Office Yin Chang to the Queen Mother Lafayette greeting!" ”

When people are old, Cixi's eyes are not as good as in the past, and her surname is even worse than in the past, although she has seen Yin Chang, she can't remember the appearance of the other party, and she can't see clearly from this distance, so she waved her hand in annoyance and said, "Get up and talk!" ”

Yin Chang didn't even dare to raise his head and replied: "The status of the slave is low, how dare you stand and speak in front of the Queen Mother Lafayette, it is better for the slave to kneel and answer!" ”

There are different opinions about Cixi.

She is actually just an old Manchu lady who wants to maintain the special power and interests of the Manchus, and she is also the last woman who can be called a politician in the Manchu Dynasty, she holds a delicate hand warmer stove in her hand, and sighs lightly: "It's rare to see a well-behaved slave like you now, stand up, this palace just has something to ask you today." ”

Yin Chang got up and replied, "The slave thanked Lafayette." ”

Empress Cixi then asked him: "You have met Lord Song Biao, the governor of the three eastern provinces, I remember that Yixuan recommended you to go to Liaodong to see him at that time, and it is said that when he came back to tell him, he said that Lord Song was a good person." ”

Yin Chang replied respectfully: "Back to Lafayette, it is indeed the Lord Song that the slave saw, but the slave is telling the truth, and this Lord Song is not a rebel. ”

"Oh?"

The Empress Dowager Cixi actually really hopes that this is true, her Great Qing Kingdom has long been stormy and can't stand the toss, and now Song Biao doesn't know how much more fierce than the Cantonese bandit Changmao back then, in case it is really going to rebel, even if the Great Qing Kingdom blocks this wave, this court can be regarded as completely ruined.

She quietly raised her wrinkled eyes, still unable to see Yin Chang's appearance clearly, so she instructed Cui Yugui, the second chief eunuch accompanying her: "Move him a stool to get closer." ”

"Wow!"

Cui Yugui nodded respectfully and bowed his waist, turned around and commanded the two little eunuchs guarding the door to bring the round stool over and invite Yin Chang to sit down.

Yin Chang was happy in his heart, and it was a good thing to sit down, so he thanked the Empress Dowager Cixi: "The slave thanked the Empress Dowager for her Longen." ”

After saying this, Yin Chang really sat down, and he was only three steps away from the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Cixi continued to ask Yin Chang, "What kind of person do you think Lord Song is?" ”

Yin Chang replied: "Lafayette, do you remember that the imperial court sent many young children to study in the United States a few years ago, and now many of them have returned, but which one is a rebel and which one is a revolutionary party?" ”

Cixi felt that this was cleverly said, so she asked, "......What do you mean?" ”

Yin Chang replied along the way: "The slave thinks that Lord Song is similar to those young children back then, but the slave has seen Lord Song, but in fact, he is twenty years old. If you had seen it, it would be strange. As he said, none of the officials in the three provinces listened to his command and deployment, and they all listened to the generals stationed in the provinces, and regarded him as nothing, and no one could stand who was left to be the governor, let alone a young man? The slave has seen this Lord Song, and those who have not seen him generally think that they are forty or fifty years old, and naturally they have all kinds of ideas, but most of them are their own guesses. This Lord Song, the slave thought that he had two characteristics, one was that he loved money, made a lot of money during the Russo-Russian War, bought land and coal and iron ore in the three eastern provinces, and sat on millions of family fortunes, so he could not take the risk of having nothing to rebel against the imperial court; The second is to be able to fight, it is indeed a rare art of war, extremely good at using soldiers, even if you give him more money to support him, it will always be useful to him, it is better than letting the Russians raise him. ”

When Cixi heard this, she felt that Yin Chang was really to the point, and she actually heard Zhao Erxun's secret report, saying that Song Biao was corrupt and perverted the law in the three eastern provinces, took advantage of the chaos to forcibly seize tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land, and with the support of the Russians, he cleverly seized the monopoly of coal and iron in various places, and acted boldly and recklessly.

She has always felt that Zhao Erxun has added fuel and vinegar, and it is true that she will take the opportunity to make more money, how many people in this world do not love money?

Yin Chang is right, it is always useful to raise Song Biao, it is better than letting the Russians raise him.

Hearing Yin Chang's words, Cixi bowed slightly.

At this time, there was also a light snow in the Jingshi City, and the weather was just turning cold, the wind and cold snow made a thin layer of snow particles accumulate on the cyan brick ground outside the Ningshou Palace, Cixi is not in a good mood these days, as soon as the weather turns cold, her wrists and knees are cold and painful, and she also suffered from dysentery last month.

Cixi was wearing a brocade silk dark green jacket, holding a brass hand warmer in her hand, and a charcoal stove burning beside her, the room was hot, but there was always an indescribable coldness in her heart, her body was not as good as a year, and she was always worried that one day she would fall asleep and never wake up again.

Every time she thought about this, she had too much worry and fear in her heart.

She is also a human being, she loves power, she is also afraid of death, she also wants to leave a name in history, and she also wants to keep the country and foundation of the Qing Dynasty.

She is old, no amount of jewels and careful maintenance can hide her aging in her seventies, and the age spots on her face, she and this empire are already on the verge of death.

She had always been so stern, cold, and ruthless, because she held all the power of the empire, and she controlled it, but she was the most heavy and anxious old woman, and she could not find even a few good things to be happy about.

Cixi couldn't help but think of the things of the previous days, and she sighed with Yinchang: "A few days ago, before Song Biao was appointed as the governor of the three eastern provinces, the palace found the governor of Zhili, Lord Yuan, who was also a capable lord, and the palace asked him, if Song Biao rebelled and waved his army south, can you stop it?" Guess what Lord Yuan answered this palace? ”

Yin Chang replied humbly: "The slave doesn't know. ”

Cixi sighed and said, "Lord Yuan said that if Song Biao goes south by himself, then it is better to say, maybe he can block it, maybe he can't stop it, the key is to see if the Russians support him; If Song Biao commanded the Russian army to go south, then don't fight, even if there are three Beiyang armies combined, they are not opponents. ”

Yin Chang also lamented, feeling that their lives were really miserable, and I don't know when this good foundation was so unbearable.

He could only reply: "The slave has studied in Germany, knows the way foreigners play, and does not hide it from Lafayette, what Lord Yuan said is right." But this is not the case, I am afraid that Zhao Erxun and his gang will fight for power and profit for themselves, and in order to breathe a sigh for themselves, they will force Governor Song to rebel. If you want the slave to say, Zhao Erxun is also not kind, doesn't this show that he is forcing Governor Song to death? I am really not afraid of Governor Song's rebellion, but I am afraid that Governor Song will not rebel. Lafayette, no matter what the matter is, he still has to transfer Lord Zhao back first, and if he continues to toss like this, even if Governor Song just wants to make more money and make more new deals, he may be forced to rebel against Lord Zhao. ”

Cixi was silent for a long time, and after a long while, she closed her eyes, and said with a cold and tired face: "Yes, isn't this what you said, this Lord Zhao is really going to find something unpleasant for this palace." ”

She is old, her energy is no longer as good as in the past, and she has a lot of worries in her heart, she really wants to throw all this away, but she can't throw it down, if she throws it all to the emperor, her life will be ruined.

Seeing her close her eyes, she didn't speak with a straight face, and she didn't know whether she was happy or worried, angry or hateful, Yin Chang felt a little unpredictable fear and jealousy in his heart, and Cui Yugui, the second chief eunuch who was familiar with all this, waited for a while, and then said to Yin Chang: "Lord Yin Chang, Lafayette is going to take a lunch break, you can retreat first, first outside the palace, if you wake up this afternoon and summon you again, I will greet you again." ”

Yin Chang couldn't wait to leave immediately, and he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, so he got up and bowed, and left Ningshou Palace with the second chief eunuch Cui Yugui.

At this time when he walked out of Ningshou Palace, he looked up at the sky, and really felt deep sorrow for the Qing Kingdom and their Manchu foundation, and he was also disgusted with Cixi's house arrest of the emperor, but now looking back, he can only pray that the Queen Mother will live a long life, and if the Queen Mother leaves, the Han people themselves will be able to destroy the Great Qing Kingdom.

At this time, Yin Chang did not think that he had been idle for most of his life, at this time, thanks to Zhao Erxun, he finally ushered in an unprecedented opportunity, and a few days later, he was suddenly promoted to the governor of Fengtian, and the former Jilin general Zeng Yun and Heilongjiang general Cheng Dequan also became the governor of Jilin and the governor of Heilongjiang respectively.

A few days later, Cixi, who had not expressed her position during the entire New Army demonstration, finally made a decision and supported Yixuan to issue two decrees as the Minister of Military Aircraft, one was to abolish the garrison generals of the three provinces and change them to governors, and at the same time abolish the post of Fengtianfu Yin; The second is to transfer Zhao Erxun back to Beijing and then serve as the head of the household department, and appoint Yin Chang as the governor of Fengtian, that is, to be sent to Fengtianfu.

The Empress Dowager Cixi felt that what Yin Chang said was very right, and won her heart, and considering that Yin Chang was still very tactful, not as demanding power as Zhao Erxun, so that she almost ruined the country's major affairs, so she appointed Yin Chang as the governor of Fengtian.

At this point, the Fengtian New Army demonstration incident finally came to an end, and Qing Zhengaxe and Cixi decided to continue to endure and give more power to Song Biao, since he was made the governor of the three eastern provinces, then Suo surnamed gave him the power, so as not to continue to toss like this.

It was Yin Chang's words that made Cixi finally make up her mind.

Yin Chang said that even if you give him more money to support him, it will always be useful to him, and it is better than letting the Russians support him.

Since Song Biao loves money, Cixi thinks that this is also a good thing, it is better to love money than to love Jiangshan, I heard that Song Biao has not been married, Cixi asked Prince Qing to keep this matter in mind, if there is a suitable candidate, he will give Song Biao a match.

The New Army incident quietly came to an end, Yin Chang took Cixi's entrustment, took his German wife and quietly went to Fengtian Province, he even had already thought about it, and when he arrived in Fengtian Mansion, he would immediately go to the governor's yamen to meet Song Biao, instead of going to his own governor's yamen to settle his wife and children, etc., in order to fulfill his duty as a lower official.

Before he set off, the new governor of Jilin, Zeng Yun, and the governor of Heilongjiang, Cheng Dequan, came faster because they were in the northeast, so they arrived at Fengtianfu to meet Song Biao first.

The people who are officials are the most well-informed in this regard, and their sense of smell is also the most sensitive, the sky in the three eastern provinces has completely changed, and in the entanglement and struggle of the four parties, Song Biao has the last laugh, holding the power of the entire three eastern provinces.

(To be continued)