The emperor is the theoretical ruler of the empire and is the supreme ruler of the empire. But at the moment, the emperor is like a prisoner, and it is the Empress Dowager Yehnara who holds the power of the empire.

Yehenara was the concubine of Emperor Xianfeng and gave birth to Xianfeng's only adult son, Emperor Tongzhi. Maybe Cixi was too strong, which led to the relationship between Tongzhi and his biological mother has been bad, and the relationship is even worse than that of his mother-in-law Ci'an. Tongzhi was a short-lived emperor who died at the age of nineteen without a queen. I had no choice but to choose the son of the prince of Xianfeng, the seventh brother of Xianfeng, as the emperor, that is, the current Guangxu Emperor. At the age of four, he was raised in the palace, which can be regarded as inheriting Xianfeng's incense.

Guangxu is a very close junior to Cixi, he is the nephew of Cixi's husband, and Cixi's nephew. Guangxu's biological mother is Cixi's sister.

There are many legends about Guangxu and Cixi, and the mainstream legend is that Guangxu was extremely afraid of Cixi, and this nominally extremely noble child had a miserable childhood and adolescence and was seriously lacking in love. even regarded his master Weng Tonghe as a relative, and only by being held in his arms by Weng Tonghe could the little emperor sleep peacefully. From Emperor Tongzhi to Emperor Guangxu, it can reflect the character of Cixi, who is a woman who seriously lacks maternal affection.

finally survived to the age of pro-government, under the pressure of Chinese and foreign public opinion, Cixi had to return to the government of Guangxu, but the highest personnel power has always been held in his hands - the appointment and dismissal of senior officials above the third rank must be Cixi's nod. Through this, Cixi was still in control of the court.

The Wuxu Reform Law was a big exposure of the real relationship between Guangxu and Cixi, and Guangxu really hoped to truly get rid of Cixi's fetters through a more thorough top-level reform. Therefore, when Kang Youwei talked to him about the plan for the reform of the official system, he was immediately moved. Guangxu was really annoyed with Cixi's cronies, and he was eager to establish his own team. But the secret of power lies in people, long-term idleness, so that Guangxu has almost no available people, when Cixi removed Weng Tonghe from his post before the Hundred Days Restoration, Guangxu became the commander of the light pole. In fact, the so-called Imperial Party is basically a fictitious political group, and taking Weng Tonghe, the leader of the Imperial Party, as an example, this old bureaucrat is a scholar at heart, and he has not formed a powerful political team in the center for many years, so naturally he cannot give his students practical support. Therefore, Guangxu had to rely on the atmosphere of public opinion formed by the book on the bus, and relied on a few crazy people to promote the political reform of the empire.

The real reason for Guangxu's defeat was that he did not gain the support of Cixi. He hated Cixi so much in his heart that he didn't recognize the situation at all. In his bones, Cixi was regarded as a stumbling block to reform. The reason for launching political reform is very high-sounding, that is, to enrich the country and strengthen the army! In fact, Cixi agrees with this. The defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War, the huge indemnity for defeat and the loss of the country's territory had already endangered the rule of the Qing Dynasty. Cixi, who had already grasped the supreme authority of the state, also hoped that the country would be strong and prosperous, and that the rule of the Qing Dynasty would continue forever. Guangxu's correct approach was to find a way to gain Cixi's support, but he couldn't do this, because his real purpose was to regain the power that was occupied by the Empress Dowager under the public reason, so it evolved into the ending that everyone sees. The Restoration failed, and six heads were cut off in public at a vegetable market southwest of the capital, while their leaders, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, fled to Japan with the full help of foreigners, becoming the source of another anti-imperial force in addition to Sun Wen. The protagonist of the incident, Emperor Guangxu, was imprisoned in Yingtai, a natural prison, by Cixi.

Countless changes dressed in glamour are in fact a struggle for power.

The truth of the Wuxu Incident remains innumerably mysterious. But the irritation of the incident for Cixi was serious. Therefore, Cixi suddenly returned to the palace from the Summer Palace, where she had been living idle since the "handover of power", and reprimanded Guangxu for being ungrateful—she was ready to rebel against the army and endanger me! Therefore, Cixi scolded Guangxu and said: Idiot! Without me, there would be nothing! The meaning of this sentence is not to say that Guangxu is the emperor she chose and supported to the throne, but to say, if you kill me, can you control the situation? It's all over!

Cixi was deeply distressed and decided to change the emperor.

After the Wuxu coup, Emperor Guangxu was locked up in Yingtai, which was like a prison - an island in the South China Sea of the Three Seas of Xiyuan, there was a suspension bridge connected to the shore, and the suspension bridge was dragged up, and it became a real island, not to mention that someone watched, even if no one cared, the weak physique of Emperor Guangxu, the possibility of wanting to swim ashore was almost zero.

There is no record of the emperor knowing water.

In the lonely years, Guangxu learned to repair Western clocks, these clocks are gifts from Westerners to the emperor, pondering for a long time, the emperor actually mastered the principle, some clocks stopped, the emperor was able to repair it and move around. Guangxu is obsessed with clocks, which may have a deeper meaning, that is, he is obsessed with time. Cixi was his titular mother and his aunt, much older than him, and he didn't believe he couldn't survive that woman.

The paradox of history lies in the fact that the purpose of the Guangxu reform was to enrich and strengthen the country, and theoretically there would naturally be a conflict with the great powers that had penetrated deep into China. But in fact, the great powers were supporting Guangxu. Just like supporting Kang Youwei, who advocates innovation to enrich the country and strengthen the army. Cixi, who stood on the opposite side of innovation, became the target of opposition from the great powers.

Hyunryoji Temple in Dongcheng is not a temple in the traditional sense, although its appearance looks no different from the Buddhist temples scattered throughout the country. But at present, this temple is an extremely sensitive place in the Qing Empire, it is a hotel for the officials of other provinces to stay temporarily when they enter Beijing, and it is also a place where the officials whose families are in other places but they are in Beijing have long been used as an official residence.

In the Xianliang Temple, there lived Li Hongzhang, an important minister of the Qing Dynasty.

Even if it was the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang's name was unknown to everyone in the empire.

The story of Li Hongzhang is enough to write a big book. The achievements of this famous minister of the Qing Dynasty can be roughly divided into three sections, the first is to follow Zeng Guofan to destroy the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and establish Huaiyong to replace the Hunan army, that is, the basic force of the Qing Dynasty during the Tongguang period - Huai Army. The second stage was to engage in Westernization affairs, and served as a veritable leader of the Westernization Movement, establishing the Beiyang Navy and Army and a number of modern industrial, transportation, and communications foundations. These two paragraphs are Li Hongzhang's glorious life journey, but now, this important minister who was scolded as "Mr. Li Er is a traitor" (Li Hongzhang Xinger) has truly entered the third period of his difficult life.

The First Sino-Japanese War and the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki the following year marked the complete defeat of the Manchu Westernization Movement. In order to calm the controversy, the imperial court had to dismiss Li Hongzhang, who presided over the negotiations with Japan. But the Empress Dowager Xi, who presided over the government, was like a mirror in her heart, and Li Hongzhang had just received it on behalf of the imperial court. Therefore, in the second year, Cixi appointed Li Hongzhang as the plenipotentiary ambassador, on the grounds of celebrating the tsar's accession to the throne, he sent an envoy to European countries, and he was away for more than half a year. No, after three or four years of dissipation, the imperial court finally appointed this highly decorated old minister as the governor of Liangguang again. Soon, Li Hongzhang was about to set off for the south. Although the Governor of Liangguang is a feudal official, his status is not as good as that of the Governor of Zhili, the head of the Xinjiang ministers, and the Governor of Liangjiang, who is in charge of the source of wealth in the southeast, especially for Li Hongzhang, who is a very popular minister, this position is not even a comfort.

The only thing that I can talk about is that Guangzhou, with its warm climate, may be a good place for an elderly and sick minister.

Li Hongzhang stood in front of the Xianliang Temple, waiting for the visiting British Minister Dou Nale.

Dou Nale first congratulated Li Hongzhang on being reappointed by the imperial court, and said that he had come to see him off. Li Hongzhang expressed his gratitude to the minister for coming to the door in person, he is a veteran of foreign affairs, and Dou Nale has also come to China for many years, and they are very familiar with each other.

Eating is always the top priority of the Chinese, and all affairs can be solved at the banquet. Li Hongzhang, who is well versed in foreigners' style, knew that Dou Nale would not just bid farewell to himself, and sure enough, the British minister raised a question that Li Hongzhang could not answer positively.

I heard that your country is going to depose the Guangxu Emperor?

Li Hongzhang couldn't answer. Can only be answered in standard diplomatic terms, Minister Minister, I think, this is our own Chinese business, right?

Dou Nale made it clear that if there were diplomatic representations in the future, the British Empire would never recognize anyone else as the supreme head of state in China except for the Guangxu Emperor.

Regarding the British minister's warning, Li Hongzhang, who is well versed in foreign affairs, did not change his face. Li Hongzhang, who has been through political storms for a long time, has cultivated into a demon, and he can do it as immobile as a mountain whenever news comes.

But he knew that Cixi, who had regained power through another palace coup last autumn, was indeed considering abolishing Guangxu and setting up a new monarch. The candidate has already been chosen, and it is Pu Jun, the son of Zaiyi, the king of Doluoduanjun.

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